Immunological Profiling in Knee Osteoarthritis: Treg Dysfunction as Key Driver of Pain

Pain is the hallmark symptom of osteoarthritis (OA) and its biological drivers remain poorly understood. While the role of innate immunity in OA has been extensively studied, the involvement of adaptive immunity, in particular regulatory T cells (Tregs), is not well understood. Using a comprehensive multi-omic approach on the peripheral blood from 46 knee OA patients with similar radiographic stage, including deep immunophenotyping, cytokine profiling, transcriptomic and T-cell receptor analysis on sorted CD4 Tregs and effector T cells (Teff), we identified an immunological signature associated with OA-related pain. Cytokines promoting Treg expansion and activation (with increases of sIL2-RA, sTNFR1, sTNFR2) were correlated with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscore, suggesting a potential Treg dysfunction. Nineteen T cell subsets were correlated with WOMAC pain. Notably, we found a negative correlation of cell subsets associated with Treg expansion and activation (FoxP3+CTLA4+, CD4+CD57+, Treg CD95+, CD4 Treg CD45RA-). Differential gene expression analysis between patients with low and high WOMAC pain intensity (threshold ≥ 40/100) revealed an upregulation of inflammasome-related genes such as IL1RL1, IL31RA, IFITM3, NLRP3, IFNG in Tregs. Functional enrichment analysis highlighted an overrepresentation of innate immune response, IL-8, and interferon activation pathways suggesting a pro-inflammatory state in Tregs of patients with high pain intensity. Collectively, our systems immunology approach highlights multiple associations between Treg dysfunctionality and OA-related pain, providing new insights into the adaptive immune system’s contribution to OA-related pain.