Distribution of Th1, Th2 and Th17 in peripheral blood of patients with carotid atherosclerotic ischemic stroke

Objective To investigate the distribution of T helper cell 1 (Th1), Th2 and Th17 in peripheral blood of patients with carotid atherosclerotic ischemic stroke. Methods There were a total of 180 patients with carotid atherosclerotic ischemic stroke and 60 normal controls enrolled in this study. According to the degree of carotid artery stenosis, 180 patients were divided into 3 subgroups: mild stenosis group (N = 60), moderate stenosis group (N = 60) and severe stenosis group (N = 60). Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to test the proportion of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells in peripheral blood. Results Compared with control group, the proportion of Th1 [(5.76 ± 1.81)% vs (3.54 ± 0.29)%, P = 0.000] and Th17 [(0.36 ± 0.13)% vs (0.18 ± 0.03)% , P = 0.000] cells in ischemic stroke group was significantly increased. There were statistical differences in the proportion of Th1 cells [(4.56 ± 0.55)%, (4.88 ± 0.42)% and (7.83 ± 1.69)%; P = 0.000] and Th17 cells [(0.23 ± 0.04)%, (0.34 ± 0.02)% and (0.50 ± 0.09)%; P = 0.000] in peripheral blood of patients with different degrees of carotid stenosis. The proportion of Th1 cells (P = 0.001, 0.001) and Th17 cells (P = 0.000, 0.001) in severe stenosis group were higher than those in mild and moderate stenosis groups, and the proportion of Th17 cells was higher in moderate stenosis group than that in mild stenosis group (P = 0.000). Conclusions Th1 and Th17 cells participate in the pathological process of carotid atherosclerosis. As the degree of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with ischemic stroke is increased, the proportion of peripheral blood Th17 cells is increased, suggesting that cellular immune mechanism is involved in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis and provide theoretical basis for the immune treatment of carotid atherosclerotic ischemic stroke. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.09.008