Evolvement of Treg/Th17 imbalance in the process of airway inflammation in a mice asthmatic model

【Objective】By observing the evolvement of T lymphocyte subgroups Treg and Th17 in asthmatic mouse models, this study was designed to research the role of Treg and Th17 in the asthma.【Methods】The Blab/c mice asthma model was induced by ovalbumin(OVA) with classic method.Sixteen female mice were randomly divided into control group and asthmatic group.The level of IL-10, IL-17 in mice bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) and serum was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The airway inflammation was evaluated by HE staining.The percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and CD4+IL-17+ cells were assessed by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometric analysis.【Results】The frequencies of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells in asthmatic group were significantly lower than those of control group(P 0.01).The frequencies of CD4+IL-17+ cells in asthmatic group were significantly higher than those of control group(P 0.01).The ratio of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells/ CD4+IL-17+ cells was correlated negatively with the number of eosinophils, lymphocyte and neutrophils.ConclusionsTh17/Treg functional imbalance exists in asthma, suggesting a potential role for Th17/Treg imbalance in the onset and development of asthma.