Department of Internal Medicine and DENOTHE Center, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy.
Eur J Immunol. 2012 Dec;42(12):3180-8. doi: 10.1002/eji.201242648. Epub 2012 Oct 25.
T helper17 (Th17) lymphocytes represent a third arm of the CD4(+) T-cell effector responses, in addition to Th1 and Th2 cells. Th17 cells have been found to exhibit high plasticity because they rapidly shift into the Th1 phenotype in inflammatory sites. In humans, Th1 cells derived from Th17 cells express CD161, whereas classic Th1 cells do not; these Th17-derived Th1 cells have been termed nonclassic Th1 cells. In this study, we examined similarities and differences between classic and nonclassic human Th1 cells by assessing a panel of T-cell clones, as well as CD161(+) or CD161(-) CD4(+) T cells derived ex vivo from the circulation of healthy subjects or the synovial fluid of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The results show that nonclassic Th1 cells can be identified based on CD161 expression, as well as the consistent expression of retinoic acid orphan receptor C, IL-17 receptor E, CCR6, and IL-4-induced gene 1, which are all virtually absent in classic Th1 cells. The possibility to distinguish these two-cell subsets by using such a panel of markers may allow the opportunity to better establish the respective pathogenic roles of classic and nonclassic (Th17 derived) Th1 cells in different chronic inflammatory disorders.
辅助性 T 细胞 17（Th17）淋巴细胞是 CD4+T 细胞效应应答的第三分支，除了 Th1 和 Th2 细胞。已经发现 Th17 细胞表现出高度的可塑性，因为它们在炎症部位迅速转变为 Th1 表型。在人类中，源自 Th17 细胞的 Th1 细胞表达 CD161，而经典 Th1 细胞不表达；这些源自 Th17 细胞的 Th1 细胞被称为非经典 Th1 细胞。在这项研究中，我们通过评估一系列 T 细胞克隆，以及从健康受试者循环或幼年特发性关节炎患者的滑液中体外衍生的 CD161+或 CD161-CD4+T 细胞，检查了经典和非经典人类 Th1 细胞之间的相似性和差异。结果表明，可以根据 CD161 表达以及维甲酸孤儿受体 C、IL-17 受体 E、CCR6 和 IL-4 诱导基因 1 的一致表达来识别非经典 Th1 细胞，这些在经典 Th1 细胞中几乎不存在。通过使用这种标记物的面板来区分这两个细胞亚群的可能性可能为更好地确定经典和非经典（Th17 衍生）Th1 细胞在不同慢性炎症性疾病中的各自致病作用提供机会。
