The role of interleukin-21 in Th17/Treg imbalance in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the role of interleukin-21 in T helper cell 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) imbalance in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, and its mechanism.Methods Frequencies of Th17 cells and Treg in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 76 CHB patients and 20 health controls were detected by flow cytometry, and serum levels of interleukin (IL)-21, IL-17, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and IL-10 were measured by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA). Under stimulation of IL-21 or IL-2 in vitro, levels of RORγt and Foxp3 mRNA in PBMCs were detected by real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and levels of IL-17, IL-10, TGF-β in supernatants were determined by ELISA assay, respectively. Results The level of IL-21 was positively associated with the ratio of Th17 to Treg, which was significantly enhanced in CHB patients when compared with that in health controls (P<0.05). In IL-21 stimulated PBMCs of CHB patients, the expression of RORγt mRNA was significantly increased (P=0.016), while the expression of Foxp3 mRNA was obviously decreased (P=0.018), comparing with those in IL-2 stimulation group. Additionally, level of IL-17 in the corresponding supernatants was notably enhanced (P=0.049), while levels of IL-10 and TGF-β were decreased significantly (P=0.017, P=0.004), respectively.Conclusion IL-21 could enhance the ratio of Th17 to Treg through increasing the expression of RORγt mRNA and decreasing the expression of Foxp3 mRNA in patients with CHB.

Key words: Interleukin-21, Chronic hepatitis B, Th17 cell, Regulatory T cell

GENG Jian, LIU Rui-xia, GAO Xi-yang, LI Yan, PAN Xiu-cheng, FU Juan-juan, LI Li. The role of interleukin-21 in Th17/Treg imbalance in patients with chronic hepatitis B[J]. Chinese Hepatolgy, 2016, 21(4): 259-262.

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