Figure 5

Blockade of IL-6R signaling inhibited PMA/ionomycin and HBcAg induced IL-17 production by CD4 T cell. Purified CD4 T cells from CHB patients (n = 4) were cultured in medium alone (blank), in the presence of PMA (50 ng/ml) and ionomycin (1 μg/ml) for 6 h (P+I), or in the presence of HBcAg (10 μg/mL) for 24 h, without or with neutralizing antibody against IL-6R (anti-IL-6R, 20 μg/ml). Cells and supernatant were harvested at 6 hours for P+I stimulation, and 24 hours for HBcAg stimulation, with or without anti-IL-6R. (A) The frequency of IFN-γ- and IL-17- producing CD4 T cells were determined by flow cytometry analysis. Representative dot plots showed IFN-γ- and IL-17- expressing cells within gated CD3CD4 T cells. (B) IFN-γ and IL-17 production released in supernatant of CD4 T cells culture was measured by ELISA. *, P < 0.05; **, p < 0.01, ns, not significant.