Increased Frequencies of Th22 Cells as well as Th17 Cells in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

BackgroundT-helper (Th) 22 is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. The roles of Th22 cells in the pathophysiological of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain unsettled. So we examined the frequencies of Th22 cells, Th17 cells and Th1 cells in peripheral blood (PB) from patients with AS and patients with RA compared with both healthy controls as well as patients with osteoarthritis.Design and MethodsWe studied 32 AS patients, 20 RA patients, 10 OA patients and 20 healthy controls. The expression of IL-22, IL-17 and IFN-γ were examined in AS, RA, OA patients and healthy controls by flow cytometry. Plasma IL-22 and IL-17 levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsTh22 cells, Th17 cells and interleukin-22 were significantly elevated in AS and RA patients compared with OA patients and healthy controls. Moreover, Th22 cells showed positive correlation with Th17 cells as well as interleukin-22 in AS and RA patients. However, positive correlation between IL-22 and Th17 cells was only found in AS patients not in RA patients. In addition, the percentages of both Th22 cells and Th17 cells correlated positively with disease activity only in RA patients not in AS patients.ConclusionsThe frequencies of both Th22 cells and Th17 cells were elevated in PB from patients with AS and patients with RA. These findings suggest that Th22 cells and Th17 cells may be implicated in the pathogenesis of AS and RA, and Th22 cells and Th17 cells may be reasonable cellular targets for therapeutic intervention.

CD4+T-lymphocyte subsets in nonobese children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

“…The balance or interplay between various immune cells reflects the reciprocity of anti-and proinflammatory driving forces, which serves as a promising clinical assessment predictor. A positive relationship between circulating Th17 and Th22 frequencies identified in our OSAS children had been demonstrated in various diseases (10)(11)(12).This functional synergism of Th22 and Th17 cells could lead to a dramatic and persistent inflammation in OSAS. On the other hand, Tan et al (13,14) demonstrated that children with OSAS had a lower percentage of Tregs than controls.…”

Interleukin 22, a Potential Therapeutic Target for Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…Th22 cells also produced IL-22 and the expression of Th22 cells. IL-22 were significantly elevated in RA patients 5,6 . More importantly, Th17/22 cells showed positive correlations with IL-22, C-reactive protein, and DAS28 data 6 .…”

“…IL-22 were significantly elevated in RA patients 5,6 . More importantly, Th17/22 cells showed positive correlations with IL-22, C-reactive protein, and DAS28 data 6 . In addition, natural killer (NK)-22 cells in vitro can secrete higher levels of IL-22 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and NK-22 supernatant can induce the proliferation of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS); however, addition of IL-22 antibody plus TNF-α antibody inhibited the proliferation of FLS induced by the NK-22 supernatant 7 .…”

L.F. da Rocha Jr, et al reply

“…These cell lineages were significantly increased in the peripheral blood of patients with inflammatory arthritis, such as ankylosing spondylitis and RA 7,8 . Although we did not investigate these cell subsets, we were able to show that IL-22 levels are high in patients with RA, indicating a role of this cytokine within the complex and heterogeneous pathogenesis of RA.…”