A Higher Frequency of Circulating IL-22(+)CD4(+) T Cells in Chinese Patients with Newly Diagnosed Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

作者：Guo, Hui; Peng, Di; Yang, Xi-Ge; Wang, Ye; Xu, Bing-Chuan; Ni, Jin-Song; Meng, Wei; Jiang, Yan-Fang^*

来源：PLos One, 2014, 9(1): e84545.

DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0084545

• INTERLEUKIN 22
• DISTINCT
• LINEAGE

Background: IL-22 and IL-17A are implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. However, the role of IL-22(+) and IL-17A(+) CD4(+) T cells in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is not fully understood. This study investigates serum IL-22 and IL-17A levels and determines the frequency of circulating IL-22(+) CD4(+) T cells in HT patients to understand their roles in the pathogenesis of HT.
Methods: The levels of serum IL-22, IL-17A and IFN-gamma and the frequency of circulating IL-22(+)D4(+) and IL-17A(+)CD4(+) T cells in 17 HT patients and 17 healthy controls (HC) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry. The levels of serum free triiodothyronine (FT4), free thyroxine (FT3), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), antithyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay and radioimmunoassay.
Results: The percentages of circulating IL-22(+)CD4(+) and IL-17(+)CD4(+) T cells (p<0.0001, p<0.0001) and the levels of serum IL-22, IL-17A and IFN-gamma (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, p = 0.0210) in the HT patients were significantly higher than that in the HC. The percentages of IL-22(+)CD4(+) T cells were positively correlated with Th17 cells (r = 0.8815, p<0.0001) and IL-17A(+)IL-22(+)CD4(+) T cells (r = 0.8914, p<0.0001), but were negatively correlated with Th1 cells (r = -0.6110, p<0.0092) in the HT patients. The percentages of Th22 cells, Th17 cells and IL-17A(+)IL-22(+)CD4(+) T cells were negatively correlated with the levels of serum TSH in the HT patients (r = -0.8402, p<0.0001; r = -0.8589, p<0.0001; r = -0.8289 p<0.0001, respectively).
Conclusions: A higher frequency of circulating IL-22(+)CD4(+) and IL-17A(+)CD4(+) T cells may be associated with the development of HT in Chinese patients.

• 出版日期2014-1-3
• 单位吉林大学