Abstract
TH17 cells represent a subset of proinflammatory T helper lymphocytes, which recently have been found to play a role in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Hitherto, to the best of our knowledge, studies on TH17 cells in childhood asthma do not exist.
The objective of our study was to evaluate whether the frequency of TH17 cells in peripheral blood is altered in allergic children. PBMCs from 31 allergic and 25 healthy non-atopic children (age 1-17 years) were obtained by density centrifugation and analysed by four-colour flow cytometry.
Whereas the frequency distribution of major lymphocyte subpopulations (B cells, natural killer cells, total CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, T regulatory cells) was maintained in allergic children, we found considerable differences in the pattern of TH subpopulations: PBMCs from allergic children showed elevated proportions of (CD3+CD4+CCR4+CRTH2+) TH2 cells (141%±81% compared to healthy controls) and an enhanced percentage of (CD3+CD4+CRTH2+CD45RO+) memory TH2 cells (173%±93%; p< 0.001). In non-allergic children, TH17 cells (CD3+CD4+CD161+CCR6+) accounted for 2.7% of all T cells. With 3.6%, this proportion was enhanced in allergic children (132%±66%; p=0.003). This correlation was particularly pronounced in children with allergic asthma (n=24), who displayed a percentage of 4.0% TH17 cells (147%±66% compared to controls; p=0.001).
In summary, we found a significant increase in the frequency of TH17 cells in PBMCs from allergic children, which was even more pronounced in children with allergic asthma, implying a putative role of TH17 cells in the immune dysregulation during the allergic response.
Supported by SFB/TransregiO22 (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
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Kerzel, S., Dehne, J., Rogosch, T. et al. Frequency of TH17-Cells in Peripheral Blood is Markedly Enhanced in Children with Allergic Asthma. Pediatr Res 70 (Suppl 5), 13 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.238
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.238