Study of T cells and natural killer cells expression in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura

immune thrombocytopenic purpura is an autoimmune bleeding disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia owing to increased platelet destruction and decrease platelet production.The hallmark of autoimmune diseases is the breakdown in self-tolerance which characterized by inability of the immune system to distinguish self from nonself-antigens .The abnormalities include increased number of the T helper 1 cells, decreased number or suppress function of regulatory T cells and the platelet destruction by cytotoxicity T lymphocytes.Dysregulated T cells in ITP patients may enable development of platelet autoantibodies, have a direct cytotoxic effect on platelets and inhibit megakaryocytes.Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the percentages of CD4+, CD8+, T helper cells, cytotoxic T cells and NK cells.Patients and Methods: The study included (40) cases of ITP patients and (40) normal healthy participants. Investigations include peripheral blood samples from cases and controls were used to perform CBC, renal function tests, liver function tests,ESR,CD3,CD4,CD8,CD16,CD56,anti-nuclear antibody testing by immunofluorescence and bone marrow examinations only for casesResults and conclusion : Data analysis by using SPSS. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study show significant decrease in the T helper cell and significant increase in cytotoxic T cells in ITP patients when compared to control people.