Imbalance among Th1, Th2 and Th17 Cells and Crohn's Disease / 胃肠病学

ABSTRACT

Dysregulated immune response is crucial for the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.Recent studies suggested that imbalance among Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells was closely related to the aberrant intestinal immune response.Aims: To investigate the association of imbalance among Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells and Crohn''s disease (CD).Methods: Thirty-six CD patients admitted from Jan.2013 to Dec.2014 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were enrolled;40 patients undergoing intestinal polypectomy were collected as controls.Inflamed and normal mucosal tissues were obtained from CD patients and the controls, respectively;expressions of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells related transcriptional factors (T-bet, GATA-3 and RORγt) and cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17A) were determined by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry.Results: In comparison with the controls, mRNA expression of T-bet and RORγt, mRNA and protein expressions of IFN-γ and IL-17A, as well as the ratios for T-bet/GATA-3 and RORγt/GATA-3, which represented balance of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Th2, respectively, were all significantly increased in inflamed mucosal tissue in CD patients (P<0.05).Expression of each of the three transcriptional factors was positively correlated with its corresponding cytokine (P<0.05).IFN-γ+ and IL-17A+ cells mainly located in the intestinal epithelial layer and lamina propria with cytoplasmic immunoreactivities in CD patients.In the stratified analysis, all the above-mentioned parameters were significantly higher in active CD than in inactive CD (P<0.05);furthermore, the ratio for RORγt/T-bet, which represented balance of Th17/Th1, was also increased significantly in active CD (P<0.05).Conclusions: Imbalance among Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells in intestinal mucosal tissue was closely related with CD.Polarization of Th1 and Th17 cells are involved in this process, and Th17 polarization is predominant in active disease.