regulatory t cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in patients with peptic ulcer and gastric cancer

background: regulatory t cells (tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (mdscs) are two main regulatory cells modulating the immune responses in inflammation and cancer. objective: to investigate and compare tregs and mdscs in peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. methods: patients with dyspepsia were selected and divided into three groups of non-ulcer dyspepsia (nud, n=22), peptic ulcer disease (pud, n=25), and gastric cancer (gc, n=27) according to their endoscopic and histopathological examinations. helicobacter pylori infection was diagnosed by rapid urease test and histopathology. the number of peripheral blood cd4+cd25+foxp3+tregs and cd14+hla-dr- mdscs were determined in all patients, by flow cytometry. the number of foxp3+ regulatory t cells was also determined by immunohistochemistry (ihc). results: the percentage of peripheral blood treg cells in both pud )0.81 ± 0.39, p