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IL-21 Is Increased in Peripheral Blood of Emphysema Mice and Promotes Th1/Tc1 Cell Generation In Vitro

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Abstract

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) has been reported to be involved in many Th1-associated diseases. However, the alteration and immune regulation of IL-21 in emphysema remains unknown. In this study, we tested the levels of IFN-γ and IL-21 and the frequencies of Th1 and Tc1 in peripheral blood from cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed mice and air-exposed mice and explored the effect of IL-21 on generation of Th1 and Tc1 cells in vitro. It was found that the levels of IFN-γ and IL-21 and the frequencies of Th1, Tc1, CD4+ IL-21+, CD4+ IL-21R+, and CD8+ IL-21R+ T cells were much higher in CS-exposed mice. Moreover, the levels of IL-21 were correlated positively with Th1 cells and with Tc1 cells. Finally, the in vitro experiments showed that IL-21 could promote Th1/Tc1 cell generation in CS-exposed mice. These results indirectly provide evidence that IL-21 produced by CD4+ T cells could promote Th1/Tc1 response, leading to systemic inflammation in emphysema.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant 81160010 and 81360011 and by Guangxi Natural Science Foundation of China Grant 2011GXNSFA018178 and 2013GXNSFAA019256. We thank Dr. Jiao Lan, Medical Research Center, People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, for her excellent flow cytometry assistance.

Conflict of Interest

The authors state that no competing financial interests exist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, 6 Shuangyong Avenue, Nanning, Guangxi, 530021, China

    Minchao Duan, Ying Huang, Xiaoning Zhong & Haijuan Tang

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Eighth People’s Hospital of Nanning, Nanning, Guangxi, 530000, China

    Minchao Duan

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  1. Minchao Duan
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  2. Ying Huang
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Correspondence to Xiaoning Zhong.

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Minchao Duan and Ying Huang contributed equally to this work.

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Duan, M., Huang, Y., Zhong, X. et al. IL-21 Is Increased in Peripheral Blood of Emphysema Mice and Promotes Th1/Tc1 Cell Generation In Vitro . Inflammation 37, 745–755 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-013-9793-x

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