Imbalance between peripheral blood Th17 cells and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in children with atopic dermatitis

Objective To evaluate the roles of imbalance between peripheral blood T helper 17 (Th17) cells and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD).Methods Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 52 patients with AD aged 2-14 years and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.Flow cytometry was performed to detect the percentage of Th17 cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood.Meanwhile,enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to detect the serum level of interleukin (IL)-6 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1.Results The children with AD showed a higher percentage of Th17 cells but a lower percentage of Treg cells in CD3+ T cells compared with the controls (( 1.20 ± 0.41 )％ vs.(0.54 ± 0.28)％,t =2.58,P ＜ 0.05; (2.29 ± 0.67)％ vs.(5.95 ± 0.45)％,t =15.23,P ＜ 0.01 ).Moreover,the serum level of IL-6 was significantly higher,while that of TGF-β1 was lower in patients with AD than in the controls ((5.12 ± 0.45) ng/L vs.(3.89 ± 0.38) ng/L,t =2.59,P＜ 0.05; (57.65 ± 10.78) ng/L vs. (81.18 ± 7.78) ng/L,t =5.41,P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions Children with AD experience a change in the percentage of Thl7 cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood as well as in the serum level of IL-6 and TGF-β1,and the imbalance between Th17 cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood may contribute to the development of AD. Key words: Dermatitis,atopic; Immunity; Th17 cells; T-lymphocytes,regulatory; Child