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Updated: May 6, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
IL-27, targeting antigen-presenting cells, promotes Th17 differentiation and colitis in mice
A Visperas1, J S Do2, K Bulek2
11] Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA [2] Department of Molecular Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
None:
T helper type 17 (Th17) cells have been implicated in autoimmunity and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Antigen-presenting cell (APC) -derived cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 are key mediators supporting Th17 differentiation, yet how these factors are induced in vivo remains unclear. Here, we show that IL-27 acting on APCs enhances IL-6 and IL-1β production and Th17 differentiation. IL-27Rα-/- T-cell receptor (TCR)β-/- recipients fail to develop gut inflammation following naive CD4 T-cell transfer, whereas IL-27Rα+/+ TCRβ-/- recipients develop severe colitis. Investigation of T-cell responses exhibits that IL-27Rα-/- TCRβ-/- mice do not support Th17 differentiation with significantly decreased levels of IL-6 and IL-1β by APCs. Our study has identified a novel proinflammatory role for IL-27 in vivo that promotes Th17 differentiation by inducing Th17-supporting cytokines in APCs.
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