The expression of Th17 Cells and Th17-related factors in peripheral blood of patients with chronic hepatitis B

Objective To study the relationship between the expression of Th17 cells,Thl7-related factors and the activity of the disease in patients with Chronic Hepatitis B(CHB).Methods Concentration of IL-17,IL-22 in the PBMCs culture supernatant and the expression of RORCmRNA,multiple Th17-related factors such as IL-22,IL-23,IL-6,IL-1β,TGF-β were determined with ELISA and RT-PCR respectively in 72 patients with CHB(21 patients with mild symptoms,27 patients with moderate symptoms,24 patients with severe symptoms and 23 healthy controls(HC)).Results The RORC,IL-23,IL-6,IL-1β,TGF-βmRNA expression and IL-17 concentration in the stimulated PBMCs culture supernatant were significantly higher in the patients with CHB than those in controls(P0.01),while the IL-22mRNA expression and IL-22 concentration were significantly lower in the patients with CHB than those in controls(P 0.01).RORC,IL-23,IL-6,IL-1β,TGF-β expression increased and IL-22 decreased as the disease improved.Conclusion Th17 cells and Th17-related factors might play important roles in the activation of the disease in patients with CHB.