CD-57 test meaning

I just got a CD-57 test for the first time. My absolute count was 203. This is a good number right? This is the test for killer cells that attack the lyme bacteria correct? Since my number is so high does that mean anything. I still have symptoms and I'm still in treatment. Thanks!

Borrelias interactions with a t and b cell are no proxy for the effectiveness of the immune response in a living organism. The immune cells that directly interact with bacteria are primarily phagocytes (dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils). Putting an adaptive immune cell with Borrelia is like sending a missile flight programmer or military strategist to the front lines. Expect a massacre. T-cells primary jobs are to mediate cytokine release and B-cell activation (CD4+ T cells) and kill infected human cells through interaction with antigens presented on MHC class I (CD8+ T cells). Many parasitic organisms downregulate MHC class I presentation and so Natural Killers largely developed to kill human cells that lack MHC class I. None of that is much use in vitro, but absolutely necessary for eradicating intracellular Borrelia in the body. CD57+ NK cells are a highly cytotoxic subgroup of NK cells. In other words extremely aggressive in the above mentioned function of eradicating infected cells. So naturally they have been associated with better prognosis in a number of diseases but I'm not really certain the ins and outs of the utility of an absolute count. It seems CD57- cells are also important in some cases so maybe the ratio is more important? Or maybe the absolute count is still significant? Idk. Maybe it'll say on the link, I'm just too lazy to dive into it. Let us know if you find out. But at first glance I would probably be happy with a count like yours. I think mine is like 23 or something.... It's incredible that I'm still a functional human being. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856678/

The bottom line is that no one yet knows what all affects the CD57. While higher numbers like yours are thought to be a good sing, without knowing what all affects the CD57, it's hard to tell for sure. Some Lyme patients with high CD57 results are incredibly ill, while others with high CD57 results don't experience nearly the same level of troubles in beating these infections.

So - while it's thought to be a good sign, it still doesn't say much. Some LLMD's do use it for tracking progress of healing from these infections, but I"m not sure that any kind of a study has been done to see just how accurate that is either.

CD-57 is low when your immunity is suppressed. This means that you immunity is now working. I think that now it can fight infection better and you will soon feel much better.

My cd57 was 45. My igenex came back as equivocal for the blood spin, ind. for the igm (bands 31, 41, 58) And positive for the igg (31,34, 41). I am cdc negative...This is definitely Lyme right? I'm being treated but sometimes question it and need reassurance because so many unknowns

My cd57 is 28 and I had an inconclusive igenex. The low cd57 was confirmation for my ind bands.

Brainzap545 said...
My cd57 was 45. My igenex came back as equivocal for the blood spin, ind. for the igm (bands 31, 41, 58) And positive for the igg (31,34, 41). I am cdc negative...This is definitely Lyme right? I'm being treated but sometimes question it and need reassurance because so many unknowns

Yes, you have Lyme because you have Lyme specific bands - 31 & 34, with band 58 a possibly specific band for a European strain of Lyme - Borrelia afzelii.

A low CD57 can help as an indicator for a chronic infection, but, again, it has not been discovered what all goes into creating a lower CD57.

You may find these two articles helpful:
/www.researchednutritionals.com/library/lyme/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-cd57/


www.publichealthalert.org/role-of-c3a-and-c4a-complement-proteins-in-chronic-lyme-disease.html

Many LLMDs have stopped using the CD57. It's not a reliable marker of disease.

Sissy63 said...
I will have mine tested at the end of the month. I have been taking two different Transfer Factor products in hopes of getting my immune system going. My doctor has had success with this protocol. I hope it works for me.

Sissy can you share more about your protocol, specifically with regard to the transfer factors?

Psilociraptor said...

Traveler said...


Yes, you have Lyme because you have Lyme specific bands - 31 & 34, with band 58 a possibly specific band for a European strain of Lyme - Borrelia afzelii.

Don't you need the epitope test to know that it's not viral? I didn't think 31 was specific for that reason. Curious where you heard about 58 being specific for afzelii too. All i've found was head-shock protein maybe but no confirmation that anyone knows what it is. I'm curious because i've got an IND 31, ++41, and +58 for IgG and a +30, +31, IND 41 for IgM. I figure i have enough between them But i've always been confused by how much certainty i have in those results. Given my symptoms i think it's pretty reasonable to say it's positive

Hm, 58 was one of my positives too. I have never been to Europe. Asia and South America but not Europe!

Yeah I see some of them say 31 is specific to OspA and Igenex had it double starred , but then they said it can be viral too and have an epitope test for confirmation so I got confused. There's no reason it COULDNT be viral as antibodies are antibodies. Just a question of whether there is any virus that has similar protein structures and is prevalent enough to obscure Lyme diagnosis. I personally doubt it. My guess is it's an indicator of late stage Lyme especially if it fits the symptom picture of which mine is textbook criteria (actually poked around the medical microbiology textbooks while getting my stuff this semester :P Spot on. They made it sound pretty serious too which made me happy)