Distribution of peripheral blood T helper 17 cells and IL-17~+FoxP3~+T cells in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

Objective To investigate the distribution of T helper 17(Th17) and interleukin-17(IL-17)+ forkhead box P3(FoxP3)+T cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and its significance.Methods T cells in peripheral blood of 30 patients with stage Ⅳ and 27 patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ NSCLC were analyzed,and 25 healthy volunteers were served as controls.The percentages of Th17 cell and regulatory T cell(Treg cell) in peripheral blood and percentage of CD4+IL17+FoxP3+ T cell in Treg cells were determined by flow cytometry.Results The percentage of blood Th17 cell in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) was significantly higher in patients with stage Ⅳ NSCLC patients than in stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ NSCLC patients and healthy controls(P0.05).The percentage of Treg cell in PBMC and the percentage of CD4+IL17+FoxP3+ T cell in Treg cells were significantly higher in patients with NSCLC than in healthy controls(P0.05).Conclusions The percentages of Th17 cell and CD4+IL17+FoxP3+ cell were increased in patients with stage Ⅳ NSCLC,which indicated that Th17 cells and CD4+IL17+FoxP3+ T cells might be involved in distant metastasis of NSCLC and thereby influencing the course of NSCLC.