Abstract: Objective To investigate the functional characteristics of CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells (Treg) in peripheral blood of insulin resistance (IR) patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods 30 cases of NAFLD combined with IR (group ①), 30 cases of NAFLD (group ②) and 20 healthy individuals (group ③) in our hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 were enrolled. Routine laboratory indexes, HOMA-IR levels and peripheral blood CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg levels were detected. According to the average value of HOMA-IR in group ①, they were further divided into high IR group and low IR group, and the levels of CD4⁺CD25⁺ Treg in peripheral blood of the two groups were compared.Results AST, ALT, TC, TG levels of group ① and group ② had no significant difference (P>0.05), while were higher than those of group ③ (P<0.05). Among three groups, HOMA-IR level was the highest in group ①, followed by group ② and group ③(P<0.05), meanwhile, the CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg level was the lowest in group ①, followed by group ② and group ③ (P<0.05). CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg level in high IR group was significantly lower than that in the low IR group (P<0.05).Conclusion The number of CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg in peripheral blood of NAFLD patients is decreased and the immune function is abnormal, while IR will aggravate the reduction of CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg, so it is of positive significance to adjust the living habits of patients to alleviate IR in patients with NAFLD.

Key words: Insulin resistance, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Peripheral blood CD4⁺CD25⁺ regulatory T cells, Functional characteristics