Interleukin 17 receptor E identifies heterogeneous T helper 17 cells in
peritoneal fluid of severe endometriosis patients
Abstract
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder resulting in pelvic
pain and infertility. The role of T helper 17 (Th17) cells in
endometriosis remains elusive. In this study, through detecting CXCR3,
CCR4, CCR10, CCR6, interleukin-17 Receptor E (IL-17RE), and CD27, live
RORγt-and-IL-17A-expressing Th17 cells were distinguished and sorted
from peritoneal fluid (PF) of patients with stage III and IV
endometriosis. Furthermore, we found that IL-17RE and CD27 were the
labels of heterogeneous PF Th17 subsets, i.e. IL-17RE-CD27- subset,
IL-17RE+CD27- subset, and IL-17RE+CD27+ subset. The former two subsets
expressed higher IL-17A, GM-CSF, and IL-22 and were more proliferative
than the latter subset. RNA-Seq analysis on IL-17RE+ Th17 subset and
IL-17RE- Th17 subset revealed up-regulation of genes involved in
oxidative phosphorylation and electron transport chain in IL-17RE+ Th17
subset relative to IL-17RE- Th17 subset. Consistently, the IL-17RE+ Th17
subset produced more adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reactive oxygen
species (ROS) than IL-17RE- Th17 subset. In conclusion, this study
provides a novel method to detect and isolate live PF Th17 cells from
endometriosis patients and unveils the functional and metabolic
heterogeneity of PF Th17 subsets. Therefore, it sheds light on the
elucidation of molecular mechanisms that modulate the function of
pathological Th17 cells in endometriosis.