en ايمونولوژي Immunology پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background: </strong>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the joints and other tissues and organs of the body. Previous reports have demonstrated the imbalance of T helper (Th) subsets and Treg activity in the development, progression, and remission of RA. Here, we investigated the mRNA expression of four major transcription factors T-bet (Th1), GATA (Th2), RORc (Th17), and Foxp3 (Treg) in peripheral blood of different groups of RA patients.<br> <strong>Materials and methods:</strong> In this case-control study, 60 patients with RA, including 20 newly diagnosed, 20 under treatment, and 20 in remission, as well as 20 patients with osteoarthritis, and 20 age- and the sex-matched healthy individual were enrolled. Diagnosis and classification of patients were done according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. The relative mRNA expression of transcription factors, including T-bet, GATA, RORc, and Foxp3, was measured using qRT-PCR.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> The relative expression of T-bet in RA patients was significantly increased in healthy controls (P = 0.002), while the relative expression of Foxp3 in RA patients was significantly decreased in healthy controls (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the expression of GATA3 or RORc among RA patients, healthy controls, and osteoarthritis group.<br> <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The results indicate the importance of Th1 and Treg cells in RA; however, the role of Th17 cells appear to be of little importance in these patients. It seems that Th2 cells do not interfere with RA development.</div> Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, T-bet, GATA3, FOXP3, RORc 153 162 http://rmm.mazums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-917-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Saeid Taghiloo saeid.taghiloo@yahoo.com 10031947532846009129 10031947532846009129 No Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Abolghasem Ajami ajami36@gmail.com 10031947532846009130 10031947532846009130 Yes Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Mohsen Tehrani drmtehrani@gmail.com 10031947532846009131 10031947532846009131 No Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Arezou Abbasi Abbasi1366@yahoo.com 10031947532846009132 10031947532846009132 No Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Reza Alizadeh-Navaei reza_nava@yahoo.com 10031947532846009133 10031947532846009133 No Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran Mohsen Akhiani Akhianim@gmail.com 10031947532846009134 10031947532846009134 No Department of Rheumatology, Alborz Hospital, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran Alireza Salami Salamialireza@yahoo.com 10031947532846009135 10031947532846009135 No Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran