Function of peripheral blood Th17 cells in patients with multiple myeloma

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of peripheral blood Th17 cells and their secreting IL-17,IL-21 in the occurrence and development of multiple myeloma(MM).A total of 55 patients with MM were divided into non-remission group(group A,n=30),remission group(group B,n=25);healthy volunteers were used as control group(group C,n=30).The concentration of IL-17,IL-21 and IL-6 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell(PBMNC) culture supernatant were determined with ELISA.The ratio of Th7 cells in PBMNC was determined by flow cytometry.The results showed that IL-17,IL-21 levels and ratio of Th17 cells in group A were much higher than those in group B and C(P0.05),IL-17,IL-21 and the ratio of Th17 cells between group B and group C were not significantly different(P0.05);IL-17 level in non-remission MM group positively correlaed with IL-6 level(r=0.782,P0.05),IL-21 level in non-remission MM group positively correlaed with IL-6 level(r=0.778,P0.05).It is concluded that Th17 cells as a initiating factor may be involved in the immune pathogenesis of MM patients,promoting the progress of the disease.