Gene Microarray analysis of Th17 cells

Th17 cells are enriched by sorting FR4-CD4+ T cells from SKG mice. A large number of Th17 cells also develop spontaneously when CD4+ T cells from IFN-g-deficient (IFN-g-/-) BALB/c mice are transferred to T cell-deficient RAG2-deficient (RAG2-/-) mice and subjected to homeostatic proliferation, whereas they fail to develop in similar transfer of IL-6-deficient (IL-6-/-) CD4+ T cells to IL-6-/- RAG2-/- mice. To explore the functional molecules specifically expressed by Th17 cells, we conducted Gene Microarray analysis between 10-month-old SKG FR4-CD4+ cells and age-matched BALB/c FR4-CD4+ cells, and between IFN-g-/- CD4+ cells transferred to RAG2-/- mice and IL-6-/- CD4+ T cells transferred to IL-6-/- RAG2-/- mice. The analysis revealed that 1,556 and 115 genes were up-regulated in 10-month-old SKG FR4-CD4+ and IFN-g-/- CD4+ T cells after homeostatic proliferation, respectively, with 29 genes shared by the two groups of genes. The 29 genes included those encoding cytokines, chemokines, and their receptors, such as IL-1 receptor type1 (IL-1R1), IL-17, IL-22, IL-21, CCR6, and CCL20. Keywords: cell type comparison