The abnormality and clinical significant of T helper 22 cells and interleukin-22 in patients with thyroid tumor

Objective To detect the expression of T helper cells 22(Th22)in the peripheral blood and the level of interleukin(IL)-22 in the plasma and the Th22 cells in the tumor tissues of patients with thyroid tumor, and to analyze the relationship between Th22/IL-22 and clinical characteristics in the pathogenesis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC). Methods Fifty-six patients with thyroid tumor, and 30 healthy controls were included. Th22 cells in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry, the concentrations of IL- 22 in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), Double immunohistochemistry(IHC) was used to determine the Th22 cells in paraffin- embedded tissues, the relationship between Th22/IL-22 and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results The level of Th22 cells in peripheral blood and IL-22 in the serum of patients with thyroid tumor were(1.74±0.27)% and(162.7±32.2)ng/L, respectively, significantly higher than that of healthy controls[(0.57±0.14)%, t= 15.72, P< 0.01; (64.2±20.7) ng/L, t= 11.31, P< 0.01].Patients with thyroid carcinomas had higher Th22 cells and IL- 22 levels than that of patients with thyroid adenomes[(2.21±0.34)% vs.(1.39± 0.22)%, t= 9.14, P< 0.01;(199.1±34.1) ng/L vs.(129.8±31.3) ng/L, t= 6.79, P< 0.01]. Compared with normal tissues, tumor tissues showed higher expression of CD4+ IL- 22+ cells (56.25% vs.8.33%,χ2= 8.167, P< 0.01). Compared with adenome tissues, carcinoma tissues showed higher expression of CD4+ IL-22+ cells(78.6% vs.38.9%,χ2= 5.039, P< 0.05).The levels of Th22 cells in peripheral blood, IL-22 in serum and Th22 cells in tumor tissues was associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis(P< 0.05). Conclusion There are higher quantification of Th22 cells and IL-22 in the peripheral blood and tumor tissues in patients with thyroid tumor and they have positive correlation with the clinical stage, Th22 cells and IL-22 may contribute to the disease progression and prognosis of thyroid tumor. Key words: T helper 22 cells; Interleukin 22; Thyroid tumor