Decreased IL-27 Negatively Correlated with Th17 Cells in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Abstract EN

The presence of Th17 cells and IL-27 is observed in a variety of inflammatory associated cancers.

However, there are some data on the role of Th17 cells and IL-27 in the regulation of immune reactions in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The aim of this study is to assess the variation of Th17 cells and IL-27 in the peripheral blood (PB) of patients with NSCLC.

The proportion of Th17 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was evaluated by flow cytometry.

The serum concentrations of IL-27 and IL-17 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The mRNA expression of RORγt and IL-27 in the peripheral blood was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR).

Expression of IL-27 was lower in NSCLC patients compared with normal controls.

The frequency of Th17 cells was increased in NSCLC patients, accompanied by the upregulation of IL-17 and RORγt.

IL-27 negatively correlated with the number of Th17 cells and the RORγt mRNA.

Our results indicate that IL-27 might inhibit Th17 differentiation in NSCLC patients and better understanding of the regulatory effects of IL-27 on Th17 cells may shed light on potential new targets in cancer prevention and therapy.