Expression Of Regulatory T Cells And Th17 Cells In Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura And Its Significance

Objective:To investigate the expression of Regulatory T cells and Th17 cells in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and its significance.Methods:The quantity of CD4~+CD25~+T cells,CD4~+CD25highT cells(Treg) and CD4~+ IL-17~+T cells(Th17) in peripheral blood were measured with the flow cytometry (FCM), the plasma level of IL-10 and IL-17 with ELISA and the expression of Foxp3mRNA and RORc mRNA with RT-PCR in 29 newly diagnosed ITP patients and 28 healthy controls. The correlation between platelet counts and Treg cells, Th17 cells, Treg/Th17 was analyzed.Results:Compared with the normal controls, the ratio of CD4~+CD25~+T cells in the peripheral blood of patients with ITP was significantly higher (P<0.05). And the rate of Treg cells in patients was remarkably lower (P<0.05) . But there was no evident difference in the percentage of Th17 cells between ITP patients and controls(P>0.05). However, the ratio of Treg/Th17 was lower in the ITP patients (P<0.05). The plasma level of IL-10 in ITP patients was found significantly decreased (P<0.05), whereas no statistical difference was observed in the level of IL-17 (P>0.05). Furthermore, the Foxp3mRNA expression levels were largely reduced (P<0.05), but the RORc mRNA expression was increased than that in controls (P<0.05). The proportion of Treg cells and Treg/Th17 in the effective therapy group was higher than that of in the ineffective therapy group(P<0.05), but the proportion of Th17 cells was lower than that of in the ineffective therapy group (P<0.05). There was a significant correlation between platelet counts and Treg cells, Treg/Th17 in ITP patients(P<0.05). The proportion of Th17 cells has no obvious correlation with platelet counts(P>0.05).Conclusion:The imbalance of Treg / Th17 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ITP.