The prevalence of Th17 cells in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

PURPOSE: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a chronic disease characterized by autoimmunity. Th17 cells are a distinct subset from Th1 and Th2 cells and play crucial regulatory functions in inflammatory and autoimmune processes. The current study was designed to investigate the possible involvement of Th17 cells in DCM. METHODS: Th17 cells were detected in blood from DCM subjects and healthy blood donors using several methods including Th17 frequencies by flow cytometric analysis, cytokine (IL-17, IL-6 and IL-23) secretion by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and key transcription factor (RORgammat) by real time-PCR. RESULTS: Patients with DCM demonstrated increased peripheral Th17 cells (2.2+/-1.2% vs 0.4+/-0.3%,P < 0.01), Th17 related cytokines (IL-17: 62.7+/-22.8 vs 15.6+/-8.6pg/ml, IL-6: 40.7+/-16.6 vs 10.9+/-5.3pg/ml, IL-23: 210.7+/-89.9 vs 90.6+/-38.8pg/ml, P < 0.01) and RORgammat (24.6+/-6.5 vs 3.2+/-1.1,P < 0.01) compared with healthy blood donors (HBD). Furthermore, there was a consistent differential sex-defined cytokine profile. Males showed higher frequencies of IL-17, IL-6 and IL-23 than females (IL-17: 70.7+/-20.7 vs 54.7+/-22.2pg/ml, P < 0.01; IL-6: 46.0+/-18.2 vs 35.4+/-13.0pg/ml, P < 0.05; IL-23: 238.1+/-106.2 vs 183.4+/-60.2pg/ml, P < 0.05) in patients with DCM . CONCLUSION: Th17 function is increased in patients with DCM, suggesting a role for Th17 cells in the pathogenesis of DCM.