Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Carcinogenesis. 2011 May;32(5):643-9. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgr019. Epub 2011 Feb 8.
The role of CD4+ T helper (Th) 17 cells in malignancy is currently under debate. However, upon closer scrutiny, it becomes apparent that this discussion includes not only evaluations of Th17 cells but also IL-17+ cells from other immune populations, the cytokine interleukin (IL)-17 itself (both endogenous and exogenous) and IL-23. Further complicating the matter are occasionally conflicting results of studies in humans versus those in mice and contradictory data from immunocompetent versus immunodeficient mice. To better understand the role of Th17 cells in the tumor-bearing host, we focus first upon those studies investigating Th17 cells in patients and then those in mice, all the while keeping in mind that variables such as tumor-initiating agents, a pre-existing inflammatory environment and the immune competence of the host may have direct effects upon this T-cell subset. In this review, we will describe the phenotype of tumor-associated Th17 cells, review those studies that have examined the population directly, and finally, briefly discuss the studies involving Th17-associated signature cytokines.
CD4+ T 辅助（Th）17 细胞在恶性肿瘤中的作用目前仍存在争议。然而，仔细研究后发现，这一讨论不仅包括对 Th17 细胞的评估，还包括来自其他免疫群体的 IL-17+细胞、细胞因子白细胞介素（IL）-17 本身（内源性和外源性）以及 IL-23。使问题更加复杂的是，人类与小鼠研究的结果有时相互矛盾，以及免疫功能正常与免疫缺陷小鼠的数据相互矛盾。为了更好地理解 Th17 细胞在荷瘤宿主中的作用，我们首先关注那些在患者中研究 Th17 细胞的研究，然后是那些在小鼠中进行的研究，同时牢记诸如肿瘤起始剂、预先存在的炎症环境和宿主的免疫能力等变量可能对这个 T 细胞亚群有直接影响。在这篇综述中，我们将描述与肿瘤相关的 Th17 细胞的表型，回顾那些直接研究该群体的研究，并最后简要讨论涉及 Th17 相关特征细胞因子的研究。
