title: Imbalance of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of active tuberculosis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maintaining a right balance between Th17 and Treg might be critical to the immunopathogenesis of active tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to assess whether the Th17/Treg balance is altered in active TB patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  250 study subjects (90 active TB patients, 80 latent TB subjects, and 80 healthy controls) were recruited for the study. The expression of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the 250 subjects was investigated by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of cytokines IL-17 and IL-10, which are related to Th17 and Treg, respectively, were determined by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentages of Th17 and Treg in PBMCs from active TB patients were significantly higher than those from latent TB or control groups (Th17: 4.31±1.35% vs. 1.58±0.71% or 1.15±0.49%, p<0.05; Treg: 11.44±2.69% vs. 7.54±1.56% or 4.10±0.99%, p<0.05). The expression of IL-17 and IL-10 was significantly increased in active TB patients in comparison to that in latent TB or control groups (IL-17: 16.85±9.68 vs. 7.23±5.19 or 8.21±5.51pg/mL, p<0.05; IL-10: 28.70±11.27 vs. 20.25±8.57 or 13.94±9.00pg/mL, p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated an altered balance of Treg/Th17 in active TB patients, with higher percentages of Th17 and Treg in PBMCs. Further research on this imbalance may offer a new direction for TB treatment.
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Mingxu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Baosong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Kejun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: chming1971@126.com.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Third Military Medical University, Institute of Surgery Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: dengsl072@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Shaoli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17; D016753:Interleukin-10
keywords: Active tuberculosis; IL-10; IL-17; Th17; Treg