Objective: To observe the change of peripheral blood Th17 cells and relationship between the severity and Th17 cells in patients with acute asthma.
Methods: We recruited patients with mild acute asthma(n=10) and severe acute asthma(n=10), and healthy volunteers(n=10). T-lymphocytes were collected from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Flow cytometer (FCM) was used to detect the expression of peripheral blood Th17 cells. IL-17 levels in the peripheral blood were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA).
Results: The rate of positive Th17 cells of peripheral blood in the severe acute asthma group was higher than that in the mild acute asthma group(P<0.05) and the rate of positive Th17 cells of peripheral blood in healthy volunteer group were the lowest among all groups (P<0.05, respectively). The level of IL-17 in the peripheral blood of patients with severe acute asthma increased significantly compared with that in patients with mild acute asthma and healthy volunteers (P<0.05). The positive Th17 cells of peripheral blood in patients with acute asthma were positively correlated with the severity of acute asthma(r=0.869, P<0.05).
Conclusion: The positive rate of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood increases in patients with acute asthma and has positive correlation with the severity of acute asthma.