Role of interleukin-17 and Th17 cells in acute renal allograft rejection in mice / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of Thl7 cells and the cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17) in acute allograft rejection in mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mouse models of kidney transplantation were randomly divided into rejection group and isograft group. On the post-operative day (POD) 3 and 7, we tested the serum IL-17 level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and measured the number of Th17 cells in the renal grafts by flow cytometry. The grafts were harvested and fixed in 10% formalin to prepare paraffin sections for routine pathological inspection.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to isograft group, the allograft group showed a significantly higher level of serum IL-17 on POD3 and POD7 (P<0.05), and the level of IL-17 is significantly higher on POD7 than on POD3 (P<0.05). The allograft group showed more infiltrating Th17 cells in the grafts on POD3 and POD7 (P<0.05), and the cell number was significantly greater on POD7 (P<0.05). Pathological examination also showed an increased severity of graft rejection with the post-transplantation time.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Thl7 cells may play an important role in the development of renal graft rejection. IL-17 may serve as a potential specific indicator for predicting allograft rejection.</p>