CD4⁺ to CD8⁺ T cell imbalance drives poor Achilles tendon repair in patients.

ABSTRACT: Insufficient healing of the Achilles tendon remains a frequent clinical challenge, creating a need for early markers that identify patients at risk of impaired healing. To examine whether adaptive immunity contributes to these outcomes, we analyzed T cell subsets in blood and hematoma collected during surgery. Patients with a higher CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cell ratio at surgery reported more pain, showed reduced functional recovery, and greater tendon strain after 12 months. Conversely, elevated CD8⁺ T cell levels, and the CD28-/CD57⁺ memory subset, coincided with more favorable outcomes. We then investigated how these cells affect tendon healing by co-culturing human tenocytes with CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells. Exposure to CD4⁺ T ce

SUBMITTER: Klatte-Schulz F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12857407 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature