Objective:
This study aims to investigate the expression and clinical significance of
Th17 cells and related factors in peripheral blood of patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH).
Methods:
A retrospective selection of 100 patients with AIH were included as a study group, and
100 healthy volunteers in the outpatient clinic were selected as the control group. The levels of IL-
17, IL-6, IL-21 and TNF-α in peripheral blood of all subjects were detected by enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay and the frequency of Th17 cells and Treg cells was detected by flow
cytometry.
Results:
Results showed that the study group had higher levels of serum total bilirubin (TBil),
alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ -glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT), immunoglobulin G (IgG),
immunoglobulin M (IgM), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
than the control group, as well as higher levels of IL-17, IL-6, IL-21 and TNF-α in serum. The
frequency of Th17 cells in peripheral blood was higher in the study group, while the frequency of
Treg cells was lower. Also, serum IL-17, TNF-α levels and Th17 cells frequency were positively
correlated with ALT and AST, whereas Treg cells frequency were negatively correlated with ALT
and AST levels.
Conclusion:
Our finding demonstrates that Th17 cell frequency and their related factors IL-17 and
TNF-α, are associated with liver damage, which might be used to monitor AIH disease severity.
Increased Frequencies of Th22 Cells as well as Th17 Cells in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis