However, not all studies yielded uniform results [13, 14], and it is until yet unclear which subset of patients with iDCM/non-ischaemic DCM does best benefit from IA therapy. Even if IA is used only once, the level of anti-cardiac antibodies remains low over time [10]. Likewise, a single course of IA treatment shows an increase in left ventricular function over a 6-month period comparable to that after repeated IA treatments

at monthly intervals [11]. A recent study suggests that IA therapy not only removes cardiotoxic autoantibodies from circulation, but also modifies Selleckchem Adriamycin T cell–mediated immune reactions. In this study, IA therapy, which was performed in 10 patients with iDCM, was associated with a significant increase in regulatory T cells (CD4+CD25+CD127low) and a decrease of activated T cells (CD4+/CD69+ and CD8+/CD69+ cells) and CD28+ T cells (co-stimulatory cells) selleck products [12]. Regulatory T cells (Tregs; formerly known as T suppressor cells) are important negative immune modulators, constituting

of approximately 5% of peripheral CD4+ T cells. They suppress the activation, proliferation and/or differentiation of CD4 and CD8 T cells, B cells, natural killer cells and dendritic cells, thus controlling the immune responses to self-antigens or to pathogens [15]. Depletion or dysfunction of Tregs alone is sufficient to cause autoimmune diseases, vice versa their reconstitution efficiently suppresses autoreactive T cells [16, 17]. Furthermore, Tregs suppress the proliferation of B cells; a depletion of Tregs results in an abnormal humoral response with an increased production of autoantibodies [18]. In mice challenged with coxsackievirus B3, adoptive transfer of Tregs protects against the development of myocarditis by suppressing the immune responses to cardiac Carteolol HCl tissue [19]. It is reasonable to assume that changes in T cell regulation and activity in response to IA are linked to inflammatory processes within the myocardium and subsequently myocardial function. In this prospective study, we investigated the correlation between the level of circulating Tregs and improvement

of myocardial contractility in response to IA therapy in a consecutive series of patients with iDCM. This study suggests that low levels of Tregs before IA therapy identify a subset of patients who do benefit best from this therapy during a 6-month follow-up. The study population comprises 35 patients recruited in the cardiovascular division of St. Josef-Hospital and BG Kliniken Bergmannsheil, hospitals of the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany. Patients (N = 18) were admitted for immunoadsorption. Inclusion criteria were congestive heart failure (CHF) (NYHA II – IV) secondary to chronic iDCM, reduced left ventricular systolic function (EF < 35%), stable medication for CHF for at least 3 months and angiographic absence of coronary artery disease.