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

Lei Zhang,Yu-Hua Li,Qiang Yang,Jian-Min Li,Dao-Xin Ma,Lei Qi,Nai-Wen Hu,Wei Li,Cun-Zhong Yuan,Yong-Gang Li,Zhen-Feng Li,Xin-Guang Liu,Gernot Zissel

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031000

Lei Zhang, Yu-Hua Li + Show 11 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031000

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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.

Highlights

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inammatory disease that is characterized by mainly involving bilateral sacroiliitis and axial joints, but sometimes peripheral joints and extra-articular organs are involved [1]
Th22 cells, Th17 cells and interleukin-22 were significantly elevated in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared with OA patients and healthy controls
The percentages of both Th22 cells and Th17 cells correlated positively with disease activity only in RA patients not in AS patients. The frequencies of both Th22 cells and Th17 cells were elevated in peripheral blood (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

Summary

Introduction

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inammatory disease that is characterized by mainly involving bilateral sacroiliitis and axial joints, but sometimes peripheral joints and extra-articular organs are involved [1]. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which represents an example of autoimmunity disease, is another form of arthritis. The abnormality of T cells is implicated in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases, and many autoimmune diseases, especially arthritis, were considered to be mainly driven by Th1 cells [1,2,3]. Th17 cells are considered to be involved in many human inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and inflammatory arthritis [11,12,13,14,15]. The roles of Th22 cells in the pathophysiological of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain unsettled. 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

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