Change of Th17/Treg in rat brain with acute ischemic stroke

AIM:To investigate the changes of T helper 17 (Th17) cells/regulatory T (Treg) cells in the brain of rats with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS:Acute middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established by thread embolization in SD rats, and sham operation was used as control. The infarct volume of the rats in each group was observed by TTC staining on day 3 after MCAO. The levels of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and IL-10 in the brain tissues were measured by ELISA. RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of IL-17, IL-10, Foxp3 and RORγt. The proportion of Th17 cells and Treg cells was measured by flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS:Compared with sham operation group, the protein level of IL-17A in MCAO group was increased (P<0.05), and the protein level of IL-10 was decreased (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of RORγt and IL-17 was increased (P<0.05), and the mRNA levels of Foxp3 and IL-10 were decreased (P<0.05). The proportion of Th17 cells was increased (P<0.05), while the proportion of Treg cells was decreased (P<0.05), and the Th17/Treg ratio was thus increased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION:The increase in Th17 cells and the decrease in Treg cells in the brain tissues of acute ischemic rats indicate that the immuno-inflammatory response is activated after cerebral infarction, and the balance of T helper 17/Treg is broken.