Study on the expression of Th17 cells and its related cytokines in childhood aplastic anemia

Objective To investigate the effect and clinical significance of Th17 cells in immunological pathogenesis of childhood aplastic anemia.Methods Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the proportion of Th17 cells/CD4+ in peripheral blood of children with aplastic anemia.The plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-6 were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The percentages of Th17 cells in peripheral blood were markedly higher(1.44±0.30)% than those in age-matched children(0.37±0.17)%(P0.01).The plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-6 in childhood aplastic anemia were(184.44±31.94) and(19.89±4.70),respectively,which increased significantly compared with controls [(120.47±18.39) and(10.44±2.51) respectively](P0.01).Furthermore,both plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-6 were positively correlated with the proportion of Th17(r=0.74,P0.01;r=0.68,P0.01).Conclusion The proportion of Th17 cells and the plasma levels of IL-17 and IL-6 increase in children with aplastic anemia,which may be involved in immunological pathogenesis of childhood aplastic anemia.