Increased IL-17A but Decreased IL-27 Serum Levels in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Effector CD4+ T cell subsets play an important role in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Interleukin-27 (IL-27) suppresses Th (Th1, Th2 and Th17) cells and dampens autoimmunity and tissue inflammation by promoting the generation of Type 1 regulatory T cells (Tr1). Objective: To identify the relative levels of IL-27 and IL-17A in MS disease. Method: In a case-control study, venous blood was collected from forty MS patients and forty-three healthy subjects as control group. Serum levels of IL-27 and IL-17A were measured by ELISA method. Results: A significant difference between serum IL-17A concentration in patients (120.68 ± 209.85 pg/ml) and control group (67.26 ± 117.76 pg/ml, p=0.016) was found. Serum IL-27 levels of the MS patients (159.7 ± 581.4 pg/ml) were significantly lower than control subjects (180.35 ± 507.84 pg/ml, p=0.001). Conclusion: Our findings show decreased levels of IL-27 against increasing IL-17A levels in patients group which may suggest the suppressive role of IL-27 on inflammatory process of MS.