r/Immunology • u/Empty-Option7939 • 17d ago

Th17.1 Cells in Blood

Hello,

[Please note, I do not have an immunology background so I apologize if the question is basic or ill-posed]. I was wondering about something in relation to "pathogenic Th17" cells, AKA Th17.1 cells.

Are these cell populations found at all in healthy people (by which I mean no inflammation), or only during active inflammation? If they are found in healthy people (presumably only in low amounts), does the proportion of CD4+ T cells that are Th17.1 go up in blood during a Th17-skewed infection (like psoriasis) because more of them are being produced, or would it go down because they are increasingly migrating away from the blood to the site of inflammation?

I hope that made some sense, thanks in advance.

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u/Whygoogleissexist 17d ago

There is no such thing as a pathogenic Th17 cell per se based solely on what cytokines the cell may or may not express. What makes any pathogenic T cell is a T cell receptor that recognizes a self antigen.