title: [The significance of Th17/Treg ratio in peripheral blood of patients with chronic hepatitis B].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the changes of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells (Treg), CD4(+)IL-17(+) T cells (Th17) and their related cytokines in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and explore the role of Th17/Treg balance in the progression of CHB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five patients with light-to-moderate chronic hepatitis B (CHB-LM), 25 patients with chronic severe hepatitis B (CSHB) and 21 healthy controls were enrolled. The frequencies of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry (FCM), and the levels of IL-17, IL-23, IL-10 and TGF-β1 in sera were analyzed by double-antibody ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with health controls, the frequency of Th17, Treg and their cytokines (IL-17, IL-23, IL-10 and TGF-β1) increased significantly in CHB patients. Furthermore, the ratio of Th17/Tregs increased markedly in CHB patients compared with health controls, and it was significantly higher in CHB-LM than in CSHB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The imbalance of Th17/Treg plays an important role in the progression of CHB, and the ratio of Th17/Treg has a certain forecast value for finding the early development of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Wenchao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Shijin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines