Th9 and Th22 immune response in young patients with type 1 diabetes

Th17, Th22 and Th9 are recently discovered effector populations that may contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The presented study aimed to investigate the link between Th22 and Th9 subsets in type 1 diabetes, as this disease involves different subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes. The study groups consisted of 23 patients with type 1 diabetes and 11 healthy individuals. All subjects had CD4+IL-22 Th22 and CD4+IL-9 Th9 lymphocytes investigated by flow cytometry. In addition, the plasma concentrations of IL-22 as well as IL-9 were analyzed. Our study demonstrated that Th9 and Th22 cell counts as well as their plasma cytokines were upregulated in patients with type 1 and correlated with HbA1c and CRP values. Taking these all into account, one can conclude that Th22 and Th9 lymphocyte activities may contribute to chronic, low-level inflammation that is considered an integral part of type 1 diabetes.