ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the blood and chest fluid level of Th17 cell and IL-17 in patients with tuberculous pleural effusion and its pathological role.Methods Flow cytometry and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to measure the blood and chest fluid level of Th17 cell and IL-17 from 30 patients with tuberculous pleural effusion,20 patients without tuberculous pleural effusion,and 20 healthy persons.Results The blood level of Th17 cell and IL-17 wwere higher in tuberculous pleural effusion than in the other two groups(P ＜0.05).The chest fluid level of Th17 cell and IL-17 in patients with tuberculous pleural effusion were significantly higher than those in patients without tuberculous pleural effusion (P ＜ 0.05 ).The chest fluid level of Th17 cell and IL-17 in patients with and without tuberculous pleural effusion were significantly higher than that of the blood serum level.After treatment for 1,3,7 and 14 days,tbe blood serum and chest fluid level of Th17 cell and IL-17 were obviously lower.( P ＜ 0.01 ).After treatment for 1 day,the blood level of Th17 cell was obviously lower than before treatment( P ＜ 0.01 ).After treatment for 3 days,the chest fluid level of Th17 cell was obviously lower than before treatment( P ＜0.01 ).After treatment for 3 days,the blood serum level of IL-17 was obviously lower than before treatment (P ＜ 0.01 ).After treatment for 7 days,the chest fluid level of IL-17 was obviously lower than before treatment ( P ＜0.01 ).Conclusion Th17 cell and IL-17 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of tuberculous pleural effusion and they were correlated with disease progression and the therapeutic effect.