Moldagens digitais e manuseio de modelos digitais: o futuro da Odontologia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Following the discovery of Th17 cells, increased levels of IL-17A, as well as the presence of Th17 cells and expression of their transcription factor RORC in the synovial fluid (SF) of JIA children have been reported. OBJECTIVES: To investigate phenotype and function of CD4+ T cells in synovial fluid (SF) of affected joints from children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to establish a possible link with disease activity parameters. METHODS: CD4+ T cells of peripheral blood (PB) and SF of 37 JIA and PB from 15 healthy children were analyzed for exression of CXCR3, CCR6, and IL-17A by intracellular cytokinegCD161, and for production of IFN-production assays (flow cytometry on cultured cells and on T-clones). RORC transcription marker was evaluated by RT-PCR. Spectratyping and clonotypic analyses on different T cell subsets were performed. RESULTS: Numbers of CD4+CDI61+, showing eitheraThl oraTh17/Th1 phenotype were higher in SF than in PB from JIA children. The few Th17 cells from SF of JIA spontaneously shifted in vitro to Thl cells, whereas Th17 cells from PB of healthy children did it only in presence of SF, this effect being neutralized by blocking IL-12 activity. Spectratyping and clonotypic analyses showed a similar skewing of the TCR-BV repertoire in both SF-derived CD161+Th17 and CD161+Thl cells from the same JIA patient. The frequencies of CD4+CD161+ cells, particularly of those showing the Th17/Th1 phenotype, in SF of JIA positively correlated with levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a shifting of CD4+CD161+Th17 cells into Th17/Th1 or Thl cells in the SF from affected joints of JIA can occur, and indicate that the accumulation of these latter correlates with parameters of inflammation, thus supporting the hypothesis that these cells play a role in disease activity.