Investigation of the Role of T-cell Type 17 Transcription Factor in Early Diagnosis of Cholangitis Disease.

Context
Anti-mitochondrial antibody M2+ (AMA-M2+) primary bile cholangitis (PBC) is difficult to diagnose, and early diagnosis is the key to ensure effective treatment and the safety of patients.


Objective
The study intended to investigate the role of T helper type 17 (Th17) cells and their transcription factors in the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC to provide an effective guarantee of the ability to predict the prognosis of patients in the future.


Design
The research team designed a prospective controlled study.


Setting
The study took place at the Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University in Baoding, Hebei, China.


Participants
Participants were 30 patients with AMA-M2+ PBC at the hospital between November 2020 and August 2021 and 30 healthy controls who concurrently underwent physical examinations.


Outcome Measures
The study measured liver function (LF) and secretion of Th17 and its transcription factors-forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) and RAR-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγt)-and inflammatory factors-interleukin-17 IL-17 and IL-22-in participants' peripheral blood. The study also evaluated Th17 and its transcription factors in AMA-M2+ PBC, determined the expression of phosphorylated proteins using Western blotting, and analyzed the relationship between Th17 and LF.


Results
The Th17 in the intervention group's peripheral blood was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < .05), and the sensitivity and specificity of the AMA-M2+ PBC were 63.33% and 96.67%, respectively. The expression of Foxp3 and p-Foxp3 proteins for the intervention was significantly lower (P < .001), while RORγt and P-ROR γ T were significantly higher (P < .001). The levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-22 for the intervention group were significantly higher than those for the control group. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed that alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were positively correlated with Th17 cells, RORγt, IL-17, and IL-22 and negatively correlated with Foxp3.


Conclusions
Th17 plays an important role in the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC, and Th17 and its transcription factors are highly effective for the early diagnosis of AMA-M2+ PBC, which is expected to be a breakthrough in the future diagnosis of the disease.