Correlations between serum Th17/Treg ratio and YKL-40 and vitamin D levels in patients with allergic rhinitis

LI Hongchao; WANG Xinlei; LIU Weixing; LI Jing

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2024.34.003

Abstract：Objective To investigate the relationships between the ratio of T helper cells 17(Th17)/regulatory T(Treg)cells and serum chitinase protein-40(YKL-40)level and vitamin D levels in patients with allergic rhinitis.Meth-ods Ninety-nine patients with allergic rhinitis(observation group)and 99 healthy individuals who underwent physical examination at the same time(control group)were selected.Peripheral venous blood 9 mL was collected,and the level of 25(OH)D3 in peripheral blood was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The proportion of CD4+IL-17+Th17 cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in CD4+T cells was determined by flow cytometry.The level of YKL-40 in serum was measured by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The proportions of CD4+IL-17+Th17 cells,CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in CD4+T cells,YKL-40 level and vitamin D level were compared between the two groups.Results The level of 25(OH)D3 in serum and the proportion of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in CD4+T cells were lower in the observation group than in the control group(both P<0.05),while the proportion of CD4+IL-17+Th17 cells in CD4+T cells,Th17/Treg cell ratio and serum YKL-40 level were higher in the observation group than in the control group(all P<0.05).The Th17/Treg ratio in serum was positively correlated with YKL-40 level(r=0.429,P<0.05)and was negatively correlated with the level of 25(OH)D3 in serum(r=-0.735,P<0.05).The level of YKL-40 was negatively correlated with the level of 25(OH)D3 in serum(r=-0.450,P<0.05).Conclusions In allergic rhinitis patients,serum 25(OH)D3 content decreases and YKL-40 level increases.The abnormal expression of YKL-40 may be related to the imbalance of Th17/Treg ratio and participate in the development and progression of allergic rhinitis.