Th17 and regulatory T cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the changes of Th17 cell, regulatory T cell (Treg) and interleukin (IL)-6 in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their relationship with disease activity. Methods Percentage of Th17 and Treg in the peripheral blood of 103 patients with SLE and 28 healthy volunteers were detected by flow cytometry. The concentration of IL-6 in SLE patients and healthy volunteers was detected by cytometric bead array (CBA). The disease activity of SLE was measured by SLEDAI. SLE patients were divided into two groups: stable SLE (SLEDAI≤ 9, n=37) and active SLE (SLEDAI＞9, n= 66). The change of Th17, Treg, IL -6 and their relationship with disease activity were analyzed. Nonparamentric tests, t -test and spearman correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results The percentage of Th17 cells and the concentration of IL-6 in the peripheral blood in patients with SLE was higher than that in normal controls [respectively for (1.2±1.1)%, (35±92) pg/ml and (0.6±0.4)%, (6±3) pg/ml, P＜0.05]. However, the percentage of Treg in patients with SLE was lower than that in normal controls [respectively for (1.6±1.2)%,(2.6±1.8)%, P＜0.05]. The percentage of Th17, Th17/Treg IL-6 level in active SLE patients was higher than those in inactive SLE and those in normal controls (P＜0.05). However, the percentage of Treg in active SLE was lower than that in stable SLE patients and that in normal controls (P＜ 0.05). The percentage of Th17, Th17/Treg and concentration of IL-6 was positively correlated to disease activity(P＜0.05). But the percentage of Treg had negative correlation with the percentage of Th17 and disease activity (P＜0.05). Conclusion Th17, Treg and serum IL-6 in SLE patients are abnormal and they maybe contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE.