Abstract:

Objective To study the possible cellular immunomechanism of pemphigus vulgaris （PV）. Methods Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to measure the serum levels of interleukin （IL）-6, 10, 17 and interferon-gamma （IFN-γ） in 33 patients with PV and 34 normal human controls. Flow cytometry was performed to numerate Th17 cells in peripheral blood of 10 patients with PV and 10 normal human controls. Results Compared with the controls, the patients with PV had a higher serum level of IL-6 （9.89 ± 3.22 ng/L vs 8.29 ± 2.94 ng/L, P < 0.05） and IL-17 （21.60 ± 7.37 ng/L vs 17.80 ± 5.93 ng/L, P < 0.05） but a lower mean level of IFN-γ （7.84 ng/L vs 11.30 ng/L, P < 0.05） and IL-10 （13.00 ng/L vs 13.86 ng/L, P < 0.05）. The percentage of Th17 cells in peripheral CD4+ T cells was higher in PV patients than in the normal controls （2.133% ± 0.209% vs 1.537% ± 0.169%, P < 0.05）. Conclusion IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, IL-17 and Th17 cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of PV.

Key words: Pemphigus, Interleukin-17, Cytokine, Cell Immunity