Increased Th17 cell frequency concomitant with decreased Foxp3+ Treg cell frequency in the peripheral circulation of patients with carotid artery plaques

Abstract

Our investigation demonstrated that there is a Th17/Treg functional imbalance in patients with unstable carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Th17 cells may promote atherogenesis, while Treg cells may have a protective role against atherosclerosis plaques. An imbalance of Th17/Treg cells may offer a new direction for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

miR-21 alters circulating Treg function in vascular disease—hope for restoring immunoregulatory responses in atherosclerosis?

“…However, the number and function of these cells decreases both in plaques and in circulation as disease progresses, consistent with a breakdown in tolerance and the appearance of proinflammatory T cells (9)(10)(11)(12). The Li study confirmed this decline in circulating Treg numbers alongside the expression levels of TGF-β and FoxP3 mRNA in PBMC from atherosclerotic patients, reflected in the serum by decreased TGF-β protein levels when measured by ELISA.…”

Th17/Treg balance in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and the relationship with allergic rhinitis

“…In addition to the human Th1/Th2 balance, the balance between Treg and Th17 cells [11] is critical for controlling the development of autoimmune and inflammatory responses. The Th17/Treg balance has an important role in the development of a variety of human diseases, including cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases [12][13][14][15]. Galon [16] suggested that an elevated Th17/Treg ratio may be a severe marker of autoimmune disease, inflammatory disease, and allergic disease, indicating that the equilibrium of different types of immune cells can be used to better predict clinical prognosis in patients.…”

Treating Atherosclerosis With Regulatory T Cells

“…Nonetheless, a significant negative correlation between Th17 and Treg cell frequencies has been found in the circulation of patients with unstable carotid artery lesions. 45 This imbalance between Th17 cells and Tregs has been confirmed 46 , suggesting one of the mechanisms through which Tregs regulate atherosclerosis is the inhibition of Th17 cells. Interestingly, the ability of Treg to suppress Th1 or Th17 responses may require differential stimulation of the Treg by IFNγ and IL-17 vs. IL-10, respectively.…”