The significance of Th1,Th2,Th17and treg cells in the prediction and evaluation of ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate clinical significance of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs proportions in predicting and evaluating UC. Methods: A total of 101 UC patients diagnosed by the Department of Gastroenterology of the Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital were recruited. This is a retrospective study. The proportions of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry. Results: The proportions of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell in UC patients were higher than healthy controls (p < 0.001); The area under the curve (AUC) values of Th1, Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg were all >0.900 in predicting UC (p < 0.001), with the cut off values being 15.25%, 4.885 and 0.425, respectively. In addition, Th1, Th17, Treg, Th17/Treg, Th2/Treg, Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg were statistically significant among the mild to severe group (p < 0.05). The percentage of Treg cells was negatively correlated with Mayo Score, while the percentages of Th17 cell, Th17/Treg, Th1/Treg, Th2/Treg were positively correlated with Mayo score (p < 0.05). Notably, Th17/Treg was closely related to Mayo score (r = 0.513, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The dysregulation of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs is a significant phenomena of immune disorder in UC, and these auxiliary indicators correlate with increased disease severity. The analysis of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs possesses certain clinical significance in the prediction and evaluation of UC.