@article{97097,
  keywords = {IL-23, leprosy, Th17 Cells},
  author = {Shi C and Ma S and Bai J and Liu Y and Ma Y and Lu X and Zhu J and Yang D},
  title = {Elevated IL-23 in skin promotes IL-23 derived Th17 responses in leprosy patients.},
  abstract = {<p>Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by non-cultivable bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Th17 cells play vital roles during pathogenesis of leprosy reactions and IL-23 is involved in Th17 cell differentiation. Although previous studies have reported the participation of IL-23 in leprosy patients in peripheral blood, the role of this cytokine in skin has not yet been described for the disease. In this study, we first evaluated IL-23 expression in the skin of patients with leprosy. Data showed that in keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and macrophages, IL-23 expression was markedly higher in patients compared to that in the normal skin controls. Also, leprosy patients presented higher percentage of IL-17A-producing IL-23R + CD4 T cells than healthy donors. IL-23R blocking induced markedly downregulated IL-17A secretion in leprosy patients but not in healthy donors. Furthermore, TGF- β expression was significantly elevated after IL-23R blocking. Overall, this study establishes that Th17 cells produce IL-17A in an IL-23 dependent manner in the skin of leprosy patients and provides more focused treatment strategies for Mycobacterium leprae. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.</p>
},
  year = {2022},
  journal = {Clinical and experimental pharmacology & physiology},
  month = {06/2022},
  issn = {1440-1681},
  doi = {10.1111/1440-1681.13689},
  language = {eng},
}