Increased IL-10/IL-17 ratio is aggravated along with the prognosis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

• Published in: International immunopharmacology Vol. 40; pp. 57 - 64
• Main Authors: Pang, Nannan, Zhang, Rui, Li, Jinhua, Zhang, Zhenghao, Yuan, Hailong, Chen, Gang, Zhao, Fang, Wang, Lei, Cao, Haizhou, Qu, Jianhua, Ding, Jianbing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.11.2016; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Aged; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; CD38 antigen; Chlorambucil - therapeutic use; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); Correlation analysis; Cyclophosphamide - therapeutic use; Cytometry; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Female; Flow cytometry; Forkhead Transcription Factors - genetics; Foxp3 protein; Helper cells; Humans; IL-10; IL-17; Immunosuppressive Agents - therapeutic use; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 17; Interleukin-10 - blood; Interleukin-17 - blood; Leukemia; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - blood; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - drug therapy; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - immunology; Lymphatic leukemia; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Male; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3 - genetics; Patients; Peripheral blood; Polymerase chain reaction; Prognosis; Regulatory T (Treg) cells; Remission; Rituximab - therapeutic use; Serum levels; Studies; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; Th17 cells; Th17 Cells - immunology; Vidarabine - analogs & derivatives; Vidarabine - therapeutic use; ZAP-70 protein; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); Regulatory T (Treg) cells; IL-10; IL-17; Th17 cells
• ISSN: 1567-5769; 1878-1705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2016.07.008

This study is to investigate the association between the Treg/Th17 cells and prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Totally 50 CLL patients and 20 Health controls were included in this study. Regulatory T (Treg) cells and the cell subset secreting IL-17 (Th17) in peripheral blood were detected with flow cytometry. Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17 were determined with ELISA, and expression of Foxp3 and RORγt was assessed with quantitative real-time PCR. Treg and Th17 cell proportions in peripheral blood in the CLL patients were significantly higher than control. Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17, and expression of Foxp3 and RORγt, were significantly increased in the CLL patients. Ratios of Treg/Th17 and IL-10/IL-17 were significantly elevated in the CLL patients. Compared with those before treatment, Treg/Th17 and IL-10/IL-17 ratios were declined in the CLL patients in remission. Compared with the non-remission group, Treg cells were significantly decreased, while Th17 cells were significantly increased, resulting in decreased Treg/Th17 ratio, in the remission group. Moreover, the serum IL-10 level was significantly decreased, while the serum IL-17 level was significantly increased, resulting in declined IL-10/IL-17 ratio, in the remission group. Correlation analysis showed that, Treg and Th17 cell counts were significantly associated with CD38 and ZAP-70 expression in the CLL patients. Moreover, the IL-10/IL-17 ratio was also significantly associated with CLL prognostic factors. Altered Treg/Th17 and IL-10/IL-17 ratios in CLL would be aggravated along with the disease progression, which might be used as indicators for the disease prognosis. •Treg and Th17 cell counts are increased in peripheral blood in the CLL patients.•Serum levels of IL-10 and IL-17 and IL-10/IL-17 ratio are increased in CLL patients.•Foxp3 and RORγt expression levels are up-regulated in the CLL patients.•Treg/Th17 ratio is lowered in CLL patients in remission after treatment.•Higher IL-10/IL-17 ratio is associated with poorer prognosis of CLL.