Detection of Th17 cells in thymoma patients with myasthenia gravis and its clinical sig-nificance / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To study the clinical significance of Th17 cell detection in patients with thymoma associated with myasthenia gra-vis(MG).Methods:From October 2015 to October 2017,78 patients with thymoma who treated in Cardio-Thoracic Surgery of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and 15 normal controls were collected.Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Th17 cells,and the levels of IL-17,IL-21 and AchR-Ab in peripheral blood were detected before operation.The correlation of Th17 with the corresponding cytokines was analyzed,and the independent risk factor was predicted for thymoma with myasthenia gravis.Results:The percentage of Th17 cells in the MG group was 10.33%±1.28%,compared with 7.33%±0.58% for the Con group and 7.67%±2.18% for the Tm group.These differences were statistically significant.The MG group was recorded as having(18.05 ± 7.23)pg/mL IL-17, (180.67±16.17)pg/ml IL-21,and(37.29±7.48)pmol/L AchR-Ab compared to(7.45±3.46)pg/mL,(84.33±5.13)pg/mL,and(15.23±3.32) pmol/L for the Con group and(8.22±1.67)pg/mL,(93.00±7.21)pg/mL,and(16.87±4.89)pmol/L for the Tm group for the same cyto-kines,respectively.These differences were also statistically significant(P<0.001).The percentage of Th17/CD4+T cells in the MG group was positively correlated with IL-17(r=0.830,P<0.001),IL-21(r=0.734,P<0.001),and AchR-Ab(r=0.809,P<0.001).IL-17,IL-21,and AchR-Ab are independent risk factors for predicting the combination of thymoma with MG.Conclusions:Th17 cells are involved in the development of thymoma with MG,which promote cell proliferation by secreting IL-21 and regulate MG growth by secreting IL-17.