Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by a low platelet count and an increased risk of bleeding. In addition to anti-platelet autoantibodies, CD8+ T cells have been implicated as a mechanism of platelet destruction. The current evidence for the existence of platelet-specific CD8+ T cells in ITP is inconclusive. The purpose of this review is to summarize the studies that investigated CD8+ T cells in ITP and to review the methods that have been used to detect autoreactive CD8+ T cells in other autoimmune diseases.
Keywords: CD8+ T cells; autoantibodies; autoimmunity; immune thrombocytopenia; platelets.
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