The skewed balance between Tregs and Th17 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

While Tregs maintain self-tolerance and inhibit antitumor responses, T helper (Th)17 cells may enhance inflammatory and antitumor responses. The balance between these two important T-cell subsets has been skewed in many immunopathologic conditions such as autoimmune and cancer diseases. B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia in the western world and is characterized with monoclonal expansion of B lymphocytes. There is evidence which implies that the progression of CLL is associated with expansion of Treg and downregulation of Th17 cells. In this review, we will discuss about immunobiology of Treg and Th17 cells and their role in immunopathogenesis of CLL as well as their reciprocal changes during disease progression.