Mediators of Inflammation (Jan 2015)

Decreased IL-27 Negatively Correlated with Th17 Cells in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients

  • Minchao Duan,
  • Zhengqing Ning,
  • Zhijun Fu,
  • Jianquan Zhang,
  • Guangnan Liu,
  • Qiu Wei,
  • Xiaoyu Zheng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/802939
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2015

Abstract

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The presence of Th17 cells and IL-27 is observed in a variety of inflammatory associated cancers. However, there are some data on the role of Th17 cells and IL-27 in the regulation of immune reactions in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study is to assess the variation of Th17 cells and IL-27 in the peripheral blood (PB) of patients with NSCLC. The proportion of Th17 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was evaluated by flow cytometry. The serum concentrations of IL-27 and IL-17 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mRNA expression of RORγt and IL-27 in the peripheral blood was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). Expression of IL-27 was lower in NSCLC patients compared with normal controls. The frequency of Th17 cells was increased in NSCLC patients, accompanied by the upregulation of IL-17 and RORγt. IL-27 negatively correlated with the number of Th17 cells and the RORγt mRNA. Our results indicate that IL-27 might inhibit Th17 differentiation in NSCLC patients and better understanding of the regulatory effects of IL-27 on Th17 cells may shed light on potential new targets in cancer prevention and therapy.