Abstract

Background: Asthma is a reversible chronic inflammatory disease of airways that the effects of inflammatory cytokines in its severity has been proven. This study aimed to compare interleukin 17 (IL17) and interleukin 22 (IL22), two effective cytokines in asthma, children with and without asthma. Methods: In this case-control study, 15 children with asthma and 15 healthy children were included. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 5 cc of heparinized blood samples, and cultured under stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 for 72 hours. Percentage of CD4+IL17+ and CD4+IL22+T cells was assessed by flow cytometry method. Secretion of IL17 and IL22 cytokines was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELIZA) technique. Findings: There was no significant difference between cases and controls in levels of secreted IL17 and IL22 in supernatant of cultured cells. Moreover, there was no significant difference between patients and healthy group in terms of CD4+IL17+ (P = 0.30) and CD4+IL22+ (P = 0.41) T cells in PBMCs; although the median percentage of IL17+IL22+ T cells in CD4+ T-cell subset had an elevated level in patients group but the difference was not significant (P = 0.56). Conclusion: In studied community containing children with relative- and completely-controlled asthma, there were no significant differences with healthy children in IL17 and IL22 levels, as well as CD4+IL17+ and CD4+IL22+ T cells in PBMCs. Although the median percentage of CD4+IL17+IL22+* T cells had not a significant elevated level in patients group, more studies with larger sample sizes could be helpful.