Expression and Clinical Significance of IL-17 and IL-17 Receptor in Ulcerative Colitis

The purpose of this study was to determine the expression levels of IL-17 in serum and IL-17 receptor（IL-17R） in intestinal mucosa tissue in patients with ulcerative colitis（UC） and con-trols, and evaluate their relationship with disease activity and explore the role of IL-17 in the patho-genesis of UC. A total of 36 Chinese UC patients and 60 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Serum IL-17 and C-reactive protein（CRP） levels were determined by ELISA and immu-nonephelometry, respectively. The IL-17 R m RNA expression levels were detected by quantitative PCR. Serum IL-17 levels were significantly elevated in UC patients as compared with those in the healthy controls（P〈0.05）. Among UC patients, serum IL-17 levels were significantly increased in active phase as compared with those in inactive phase（P〈0.05）, and correlated with CRP levels（r=0.578, P〈0.01）. IL-17 R expression levels were higher in active UC patients than in healthy con-trols（P〈0.05）. It was concluded that IL-17 levels were highly expressed in UC, especially in active phase, and correlated with CRP levels in UC patients.