the correlation between the numerical status of th22 cells and serum level of il-22 with severity of ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (uc) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory bowel disease, yet its etiology as well as pathogenesis remains poorly understood. there is increasing evidence that aberrant expression of cd4+t lymphocytes plays an essential role in the progression of different pathologies such as uc. this study aimed to evaluate the circulatory frequency of t-helper 22 (th22), a subset of cd4+ t cells, and serum level of its signature cytokine, il-22, in patients with uc. blood samples from 30 patients with uc and 30 controls (n=30) were tested for il-22 level and circulatory th22-cell count by elisa and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. our results revealed higher serum level of il-22 as well as circulatory frequency of th22 cells in patients with uc compared to those in healthy controls. notably, effective factors on severity of the disease were age, th22, il-22, esr and crp. we conclude that elevated circulating th22 cells and their signature cytokine, il-22, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of uc. these findings may provide preliminary experimental clues for the development of new therapies for uc and its severity judgment.