title: Th17 peripheral cells are increased in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis compared with limited illness: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis and vasculopathy. A key feature is the presence of T cells in inflammatory lesions. To establish the differences in peripheral blood T helper (Th) subpopulations in diffuse cutaneous (dc) and limited cutaneous (lc) SSc patients, blood samples from 57 dcSSc and 78 lcSSc patients were obtained. Controls were collected from healthy volunteers (n = 16), active systemic lupus erythematosus (aSLE) patients (n = 13), and active rheumatoid arthritis (aRA) patients (n = 12). Mononuclear cells were analyzed by flow cytometry to determine Th1 (CD4+/IFN-γ+), Th2 (CD4+/IL-4+), Th17 (CD4+/IL-17+), and regulatory T cells (Tregs; CD4+/CD25+/Foxp3+) subsets. Th17 and Th1 subsets were increased in SSc groups versus healthy controls (P < 0.001) and aSLE patients (P < 0.001 for Th17 and P < 0.008 for Th1). Th2 cells were higher in dcSSc patients than in the healthy and aSLE groups (P = 0.03 and P = 0.009, respectively). Tregs were increased in the aRA group when compared with SSc patients and healthy controls (P ≤ 0.003). Patients with immunosuppressive treatment had lower numbers of Th17 and Th2 cells (P = 0.02). Our results shed further light into the preponderant role of Th17 and Th1 in patients with SSc. However, these findings certainly deserve to be studied in depth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga 15, Col. Sección XVI, CP 14000 Mexico City, Mexico. sofarodriguez@yahoo.com.mx
authors.forename: Tatiana S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Reyna
authors.forename: Janette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Furuzawa-Carballeda
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabiedes
authors.forename: Luis D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Fajardo-Hermosillo
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martínez-Reyes
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Díaz-Zamudio
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Llorente
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002452:Cell Count; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D045745:Scleroderma, Limited / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000473:pathology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000473:pathology; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000473:pathology