Influences of cerebral stent implantation on CD4+CD25+FOXP3+Treg, Th1 and Th17 cells

Stent implantation is primarily used for the treatment of artery stenosis. However, the application and use of stent struts induces local and systemic inflammation, leading to intractable neointimal hyperplasia. CD4+ T cells are involved in artery stenosis diseases, but little is known about the influence of the CD4+ T cells on the inflammation reaction after stent implantation. In this study, we analyzed the frequency of signature transcription factors and proinflammatory cytokine expression from each subtype of CD4+ T cells in 50 patients receiving intracranial or cervical stent implantations from December 2011 to June 2012. The results showed that the frequency of signature transcription factor/cytokine production in Treg cells was reduced in the first week and returned to control levels at 3 months after stent implantation. However, we observed opposite trends for Th17 cells, showing increased signature transcription factor/cytokine production during the acute phase, which returned to control levels after 3 months. No significant difference in the frequency of signature transcription factor/cytokine expression was observed in Th1 cells from patients before and after stent implantation. We speculate that the maintenance of the frequency and function of Tregs controls the inflammatory response, which otherwise induces acute inflammation after stent implantation.