Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common autoimmune disorder. Loss of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg balance has been reported in several inflammatory autoimmune diseases. This study was to investigate Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg differentiation and related cytokines in RA patients. The frequencies of Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA patients (n = 76) and healthy controls (n = 1...

Both IL-23- and IL-1-mediated signaling pathways play important roles in Th17 cell differentiation, cytokine production, and autoimmune diseases. The IL-1R-associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) is critical for IL-1/TLR signaling. We show here that inactivation of IRAK4 kinase in mice (IRAK4 KI) results in significant resistance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis due to a reduction in infiltrati...

Activated naive CD4(+) T cells are highly plastic cells that can differentiate into various T helper (Th) cell fates characterized by the expression of effector cytokines like IFN-γ (Th1), IL-4 (Th2) or IL-17A (Th17). Although previous studies have demonstrated that epigenetic mechanisms including DNA demethylation can stabilize effector cytokine expression, a comprehensive analysis of the chan...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between TregFoxP3(+) cells and Th17 cells and occurrence of lung cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS The proportions of TregFoxP3(+) and Th17 cells, the expression of FoxP3 and RORγt mRNA, and the levels of related cell factors such as transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin IL-17 (IL-17) and IL-23 were determined respecti...

Th17 cells are a distinct lineage of T helper cells that protect the body from bacterial and fungal infection. However, Th17 cells also contribute to inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Th17 cell generation requires exposure of naive T cells to the cytokine TGF-β in combination with proinflammatory cytokines. Here we show that differentiation of Th17 cells is also ...

Th17 cells are a recently defined subset of proinflammatory T cells that contribute to pathogen clearance and tissue inflammation by means of the production of their signature cytokine IL-17A (henceforth termed IL-17). Although the in vitro requirements for human Th17 development are reasonably well established, it is less clear what their in vivo requirements are. Here, we show that the produc...

During colitis, activation of two inflammatory T cell subsets, Th17 and Th1 cells, promotes ongoing intestinal inflammatory responses. n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid- (PUFA-) derived eicosanoids, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), promote Th17 cell-mediated inflammation, while n-3 PUFA antagonize both Th17 and Th1 cells and suppress PGE2 levels. We utilized two genetic mouse models, which differe...

The de novo generation of Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells in the peripheral immune compartment and the differentiation of Th17 cells both require TGF-beta, and IL-6 and IL-21 are switch factors that drive the development of Th17 cells at the expense of Treg cell generation. The major vitamin A metabolite all-trans retinoic acid (RA) not only enforces the generation of Treg cells but also inhib...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Hyperparathyroidism and hyperphosphatemia contribute to the inflammatory effects in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. Interleukin-17-producing CD4+ effector memory T (Th17) cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3 regulatory T (Treg) cells both play critical roles in immune activation and inflammation. We investigated the relationship between the Treg and Th17 cells and the phosphat...

Objective(s): High Mobility Group Box1 (HMGB1) is a nonhistone, DNA-binding protein that serves a crucial role in regulating gene transcription and is involved in a variety of proinflammatory, extracellular activities. The aim of this study was to explore whether HMGB1 stimulation can up-regulate the expression of Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2) and Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) on macrophages from p...