Therapeutic Potential of The Low-dose IL-2 Through Targeting the Th17/Treg Axis in Primary Biliary Cholangitis Mice

Background/aims : Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease. The imbalance of Th17/Treg cells has been reported in PBC patients. low-dose IL-2 can alleviate disease severity through modulating CD4 + T cell subsets in patients with autoimmune diseases. Hence, the present study aimed to examine the effects and mechanism of low-dose IL-2 in PBC mouse models. Methods PBC models were induced in female C57BL/6 mice by two immunizations with 2OA-BSA at two-week intervals, and poly I: C every three days. PBC mice were divided into the IL-2 treated and untreated groups and low-dose IL-2 was injected at three different time points. Th17 and Tregs were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the related cytokines were analyzed by ELISA. Liver histopathology was examined by H&E and immunohistochemical staining. Results Twelve weeks after modeling, the serum AMA was positive and the ALP was significantly increased in PBC mice (P༜0.05). The pathology showed lymphocyte infiltration in the portal area, damage, and reactive proliferation of the small bile duct (P༜0.05). The flow cytometric showed the imbalance of Th17/Treg cells in the liver of PBC mice, with decreased Treg cells, increased Th17 cells and Th17/Treg ratio (P