Imbalance of Th17/Treg in Different Subtypes of Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Abstract

Aims: To clarify the imbalance of Th17/Treg in different subtypes of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) including Graves' disease(GD), Hashimoto's thyroiditis(HT) and Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). Methods: 47 patients with AITD (including 16 GD, 15 HT, and 16 GO) and 12 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The percentages of Th17 and Treg cells, the ratio of Th17/Treg, as well as their related transcription factors RORγt and Foxp3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were measured by flow cytometry and real-time quantitative PCR Results: Compared with those in control group, the percentage of CD4+IL-17+T cell(Th17) and the mRNA expression of its transcription factor RORγt were higher in PBMCs of AITDs (P+Foxp3+T (Treg) cells and its transcription factor Foxp3 mRNA were significantly decreased in PBMCs of GD (PConclusion: Increased Th17 lymphocytes may play a more important role in the pathogenesis of HT and GO while decreased Treg may be greatly involved in GD.

Keywords

• Graves’ disease (GD)
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT)
• Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO)
• T helper 17 cell (Th17)
• Regulatory T cell (Treg)