Kaining Zhang

Elevated Frequencies of Circulating Th22 Cell in Addition to Th17 Cell and Th17/Th1 Cell in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease mediated by immune cells. Th22 cells are CD4+ T cells that secret IL-22 but not IL-17 or IFN-γ and are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disease. The roles of Th22 cells in the pathophysiologic procedures of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the profile of Th22, Th17 and Th17/Th1 cells in ACS patients, including unstable angina (UA) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Design and Methods In this study, 26 AMI patients, 16 UA patients, 16 stable angina (SA) patients and 16 healthy controls were included. The frequencies of Th22, Th17 and Th17/Th1 cells in AMI, UA, SA patients and healthy controls were examined by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of IL-22, IL-17 and IFN-γ were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Th22, Th17 and Th17/Th1 cells were significantly increased in AMI and UA patients compared with SA patients and healthy controls. Moreover, plasma IL-22 level was significantly elevated in AMI and UA patients. In addition, Th22 cells correlated positively with IL-22 as well as Th17 cells in AMI and UA patients. Conclusion Our findings showed increased frequencies of both Th22 and Th17 cells in ACS patients, which suggest that Th22 and Th17 cells may play a potential role in plaque destabilization and the development of ACS.

Effector T helper cell populations are elevated in the bone marrow of rheumatoid arthritis patients and correlate with disease severity

This study is to investigate the frequencies of T-helper (Th)22, Th17 and Th1 cells and the levels of related cytokines in subchondral bone marrow in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bone marrow and peripheral blood samples were collected from RA, osteoarthritis (OA) patients and healthy controls. The frequencies of Th22, Th17, and Th1 cells were examined by flow cytometry. Levels of interleukin (IL)-22, IL-17 and IFN-γ were examined by ELISA. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) of RA patients were analyzed. Bone marrow Th22, Th17 and Th1 cells in RA patients were markedly increased comparing to OA or healthy controls. Each T cell subset in bone marrow was elevated comparing with that in the peripheral blood in RA patients. Consistently, plasma levels of IL-22 and IL-17 were elevated in RA patients, and the elevation was more notable in the bone marrow than in the peripheral blood. Additionally, the percentages of Th22, Th17 and Th1 cells as well as the levels of IL-22 and IL-17 in bone marrow were positively correlated with DAS28. These results suggest that local pro-inflammatory Th cells are elevated in bone marrow, which may play an important role in situ in RA and contribute to the pathogenesis of in RA.

Th17 and IL-17 exhibit higher levels in osteonecrosis of the femoral head and have a positive correlation with severity of pain

OBJECTIVE Synovitis associated with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is responsible for several clinical symptoms. However, the mechanisms underlying synovitis and the inflammatory environment remain unclear. This study analyzed the proinflammatory mediation expression of IL-17 and Th17, which perform key functions in regulating inflammatory processes in the inflamed synovium and peripheral blood in ONFH. METHODS Synovial fluid from the hips of 23 patients and 5 controls was collected during surgery, and peripheral blood samples were obtained from 34 patients and 9 controls. The expression of IL-17 in the synovium was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the levels of Th17 and IL-17 in the blood were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. Pain assessment was performed for all the patients and controls. RESULTS An inflamed synovium was characterized by increased leukocyte infiltration and IL-17 expression in comparison with the control. Preoperative levels of Th17 and IL-17 were significantly higher in the peripheral blood of the ONFH group than those in the controls. The symptoms were also positively correlated with the Th17 levels of the ONFH patients. CONCLUSION Th17 cells were recruited to an inflamed synovium, and inflammatory cytokine IL-17 was expressed at an increased level in the hip synovium of ONFH patients, which possibly contributed to clinical syndrome development. Overall, this study will help in identifying new therapeutic strategies for ONFH, especially the targeting of IL-17 to decrease inflammation and pain. < p > < /p >.

rs1760944 Polymorphism in the APE1 Region is Associated with Risk and Prognosis of Osteosarcoma in the Chinese Han Population

The effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at APE1 have been investigated in several types of cancer. However, no reports of the association of APE1 polymorphisms with osteosarcoma (OS) have been published. The present study was designed to determine whether APE1 polymorphisms (rs1130409, rs1760944, rs1760941, rs2275008, rs17111750) are associated with OS. A 2-stage case-control study was performed in a total of 378 OS patients and 616 normal controls. Individuals carrying TG and GG genotypes had significantly lower risk of developing OS than those with the WT genotype TT at rs1760944 (OR = 0.65, 95%CI 0.49–0.86; OR = 0.50, 95%CI 0.34–0.74, respectively). OS patients with allele G at rs1760944 were less susceptible to low differentiation tumor and metastasis (OR = 0.73, 95%CI 0.54–0.98; OR = 0.63, 95%CI 0.43–0.92, respectively). Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank results revealed that OS patients harboring genotype GG and G allele at rs1760944 had better survival (P < 0.001 for both). In addition, the APE1 protein was underexpressed in individuals who carried G allele at rs1760944. This study suggested that APE1 rs1760944 polymorphism is associated with decreased risk of developing OS and better survival of OS patients.