Figure 2

Percentages of Th1/Th17 cells and Tregs.

(a) Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HCs (n = 16), patients with stable AS (n = 17) and patients with active AS (n = 22) were stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and ionomycin for 5 hours in the presence of GolgiStop, and the percentages of Th1/Th17 cells within the CD4⁺ CD45RO⁺ memory T cell populations as well as the IL-17a mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of the CD4⁺ IL^-17a⁺ cells were determined. Representative dot plots are shown (upper panel). (b) The percentages of classical Tregs within the CD4⁺ T cell populations in PBMCs and the CD25 MFI and FoxP3 MFI of classical Tregs were determined in HCs (n = 17), patients with stable AS (n = 19) and patients with active AS (n = 20). Representative dot plots are shown (upper panel). (c) The percentages of classical Tregs within the sorted Tregs and the FoxP3 MFI of the classical Tregs were determined in HCs (n = 24) and patients with active AS (n = 21). p < 0.05 indicates significance (unpaired Student’s t-test); *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ns: not significant.