Th17 response was elevated in the patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a one year follow-up

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate changes of peripheral Th17 and Treg cells frequencies in the newly-diagnosed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients for 12 months.

Methods: In this research, 50 CLL patients were enrolled. Circulating Th1, Th17 cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of related cytokines were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). The study was carried out from January 2012 to October 2013 at Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, P.R. China.

Results: Compared with healthy controls, Th17 cells related cytokines were significantly increased in CLL patients, while Treg cells related cytokines were significantly lowered. In the follow-up, we found that the frequency of Treg cells was irregular, while the frequency of Th17 cells was gradually decreased.

Conclusion: Our study suggested that Th17 cells may play important role in the immune regulation of CLL, and may become a new target in CLL therapy.