The Changes And Significance Of The Ratio Of Th17/Treg Cells And AhR In Lymphocytes In SLE

Objective: Investigate the balance between T helper cell 17(Th17)and Regulatory T cells(Treg)in SLE and to explore the changes of Ah R in peripheral blood lymphocytes and the association with disease activity in patients with SLE,and to assess the value of aryl hydrocarbon receptor(Ah R)in the diagnosis of SLE.Methods: Flow cytometry and Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)was applied to detect20 patients with SLE and 22 healthy controls.The number of Th17 cells,Treg cells and AhR positive lymphocytes from peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry.qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of AhR mRNA in lymphocytes from peripheral blood.The correlation analysis between Ah R expression level and Systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index(SLEDAI),Erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),Complement C3(C3),Complement C4(C4)and C reactive protein(CRP).Binary Logistic regression analysis were assessed.Results: The proportion of Th17 cells to lymphocytes in SLE group(8.45±1.26)% was significantly higher than that in control group(0.65±0.40)%,the proportion of Treg cells to lymphocytes in SLE group(3.00±1.06)% was lower than that in control group(8.18±2.29)%,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.001).The ratio of Th17/Treg cells in SLE group(2.98±1.16)% was significantly higher than that in control group(0.08±0.05)%,(P<0.001).The AhR positive cells in lymphocytes of peripheral blood was significantly increased in SLE patients(10.76±4.52)% compared with healthy controls(0.45±0.20)%,(P<0.01),and higher AhR mRNA level in SLE patients(0.21±0.14)than healthy controls(0.05±0.01),(P<0.01).A negative correlation was found between AhR and C3(r=-0.53,P<0.05),C4(r=-0.63,P<0.05),and positive correlation between AhR and ESR(r=0.55,P<0.05).But we have not foundthat the correlation between AhR and CRP or SLEDAI.The binary Logistic regression analysis showed that SLE was independently related to AhR(EXP(B)=3.337,P=0.001)and ESR(EXP(B)=1.354,P=0.018),and the former has more significant statistical difference than ESR.Conclusion:The increase of Th17 and decrease of Treg cells in SLE patientsmay lead to the development of SLE;AhR in peripheral blood lymphocytes can be used to assess the activity of SLE and for the diagnosis of SLE.High expression level of Ah R in lymphocytes may be an important factor in SLE development.