title: [Changes in peripheral blood 25 - hydroxyvitamin D3, Th17 cells, and CD4+regulatory T cells and their clinical significance in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis].
abstract: Objective:To investigate the changes in peripheral blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D3[25-(OH)D3], CD4+regulatory T (Treg) cells, and Th17 cells in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and their mechanism of action in PBC.Methods:A total of 22 patients with PBC were enrolled and the male/female ratio was 1:21, with a mean age of 61±12 years. There were 7 healthy volunteers matched for age in the normal control group. Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay was used to measure the peripheral blood 25-(OH)D3level in the PBC group and normal control group, and flow cytometry was used to analyze the changes in Th17 cells and CD4+Treg cells. The t-test, rank sum test, Pearson correlation analysis, or Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used for statistical analysis according to the type of the data.Results:The PBC group had a significantly lower serum 25-(OH)D3level than the normal control group (9.49±3.65 vs 27.35±2.35 ng/ml,P< 0.01). Compared with the normal control group, the PBC group had a significantly higher percentage of Th17 cells (2.05%±1.17% vs 0.99%±0.12%,P< 0.01) and a significantly lower percentage of CD4+Treg cells (2.54%±1.14% vs 3.78%±0.51%,P< 0.05); there was a significant difference in Th17/Treg ratio between the PBC group and the normal control group (1.00±0.63 vs 0.26±0.02,P< 0.01). In the PBC group, peripheral blood 25-(OH)D3 was not correlated with Th17 cells or Th17/Treg ratio (r= -0.062 and -0.328,P> 0.05), while it was positively correlated with the percentage of CD4+Treg cells (r= 0.468,P< 0.05).Conclusion:Patients with PBC have significant reductions in peripheral blood 25-(OH)D3and percentage of CD4+Treg cells, a significant increase in the percentage of Th17 cells, and immune unbalance of Th17 cells and CD4+Treg cells. 25-(OH)D3can upregulate the percentage of CD4+Treg cells and thus affect the development and progression of PBC, and exogenous vitamin D may improve immune function in PBC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: X R
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002112:Calcifediol / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053246:Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D053246:Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-kappa B; C505686:TNFRSF11A protein, human; D014807:Vitamin D; D002112:Calcifediol