AUTHOR=Lourenço Juliana Dias , Ito Juliana Tiyaki , Martins Milton de Arruda , Tibério Iolanda de Fátima Lopes Calvo , Lopes Fernanda Degobbi Tenorio Quirino dos Santos TITLE=Th17/Treg Imbalance in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Clinical and Experimental Evidence JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.804919 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.804919 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

The imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses mediated by Th17 and Treg cells is deeply involved in the development and progression of inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Several clinical and experimental studies have described the Th17/Treg imbalance in COPD progression. Due to its importance, many studies have also evaluated the effect of different treatments targeting Th17/Treg cells. However, discrepant results have been observed among different lung compartments, different COPD stages or local and systemic markers. Thus, the data must be carefully examined. In this context, this review explores and summarizes the recent outcomes of Th17/Treg imbalance in COPD development and progression in clinical, experimental and in vitro studies.