The Th17/Treg Immune Balance in Ulcerative Colitis Patients with Two Different Chinese Syndromes: Dampness-Heat in Large Intestine and Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency Syndrome

Objective. To investigate the Th17/Treg immune balance in the ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with two Chinese syndrome: dampness-heat in large intestine (DHLI) and spleen and kidney Yang deficiency (SKYD). Methods. Ninety UC patients (45 were diagnosed with DHLI and 45 with SKYD syndrome) and 23 healthy people were recruited. The serumIL-17 and TGF-β1 levels of these participants were measured with ELISA; the expression of IL-17 and TGF-β 1 in colonic mucosa tissue was determined with immunohistochemistry and the percentage of Th17 and Treg in peripheral blood with flow cytometry. Results. The levels of IL-17 and Th17 were significantly higher in both DHLI and SKYD groups than in healthy control group and higher in DHLI than in SKYD group (P < 0.05). The levels of TGF-β1 and Treg were significantly lower in the two UC patients groups than in healthy control group; and lower in SKYD group than in DHLI group (P < 0.05). Conclusions. UC with DHLI syndrome could be characterized by the elevation of Th17 and IL-17 levels, which indicated an accentuation of inflammatory reaction; UC with SKYD syndrome could be characterized by the reduction of serum Treg and TGF-β1 levels, which represented a depression of immune tolerance.