Objective: To explore the effects of thalidomide on the ratio of Th17 to Treg cells in peripheral blood and expression of IL-17 and IL-35 in patients with multiple myeloma(MM), so as to provide reference for the clinical treatment of patients with MM.
Methods: A total of 82 MM patients treated with thalidomide from January 2014 to December 2016 were enrolled in MM group, 30 healthy subjects were selected as control (control group). The ratio of T cell subsets and Treg cells accounted for CD4+T cell were detected by flow cytometer. The levels of IL-17 and IL-35 in serum were measured by ELISA, and the differences of various indexes were compared between 2 groups.
Results: Compared with the control group, the ratio of Th17 cells in peripheral blood and serum levels of IL-17 of MM patients were significantly increased, the ratio of Treg cells and the level of IL-35 were significantly decreased and the ratio of Th17/Treg cells was significantly increased in the patients with multiple myeloma before treatment (P<0.05). The ratio of Th17 cells in peripheral blood and serum levels of IL-17 in patients with multiple myeloma after treatment with thalidomide were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the ratio of Treg cells and levels of IL-35 were significantly higher than those before treatment, and the ratio of Th17 / Treg cells was higher than that before treatment (P<0.05). The indexes in ineffective treatment were not significantly changed (P> 0.05).
Conclusion: The unbanlace of Th17/Treg cell ratio and abnormality of IL-17, IL-35 levels play an important role in the progression of multiple myeloma. The anti-MM mechanism of thalidomide may relate with the regulation of Th17 / Treg cell ratio and expression levels of IL-17 and IL-35.