Comparison of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and balances of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg between patients with vitiligo vulgaris and those with Halo nevus

Objective To compare the levels of peripheral blood helper T cell 1(Th1), Th2, Th17, regulatory T lymphocyte(Treg cells)and ratios of Th1 to Th2(Th1/Th2), Th17 to Treg(Th17/Treg)between patients with vitiligo vulgaris and those with Halo nevus. Methods Totally 43 patients with advanced vitiligo vulgaris and 37 patients with stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ of Halo nevus were collected and conducted with flow cytometry after collecting peripheral blood samples. Fifteen healthy people with routine physical examination were selected as control group. Results The ratio of patients with multiple sites of lesions in vitiligo vulgaris group was significantly higher than that in Halo nevus group(P<0.05). There were significant differences in levels of Th2 and Th17 cells and Th17/Treg between vitiligo vulgaris group, Halo nevus group and control group(P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in Th1, Treg cells and Th1/Th2 among three groups(P>0.05). Conclusion There are differences in changes of peripheral blood Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells between patients with vitiligo vulgaris and those with Halo nevus, which represent as the obvious increase of peripheral blood Th17 cells in patients with vitiligo vulgaris and the obvious decrease of peripheral blood Th2 cells in those with Halo nevus.