Methotrexate attenuates the Th17/IL-17 levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy individuals and RA patients.

To investigate whether the inhibition of Th17/interleukin (IL)-17 contributes to the beneficial effects of methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and RA patients were collected. The cells were stimulated with monoclonal antibodies to CD3 and CD28 in the absence or presence of MTX. After coincubation, IL-17 production was detected at both the mRNA and protein levels, and the percentage of cells positive for both CD4 and IL-17 in PBMCs was analyzed by flow cytometry. PBMCs of healthy donors and RA patients were stimulated with CD3 and CD28 monoclonal antibodies to produce high levels of IL-17. The augmentation of IL-17 at the mRNA and protein levels was significantly inhibited when PBMC cultures were preincubated with MTX. Compared with PBMCs of healthy donors, PBMCs of RA patients produced higher levels of IL-17, and this increase in IL-17 levels was more inhibited by MTX pretreatment. MTX inhibited IL-17 at the mRNA level in a dose-dependent manner, but not at the protein level, in both PBMCs of healthy donors and RA patients. MTX did not affect the percentage of CD4- and IL-17-positive cells in PBMCs. MTX dose dependently suppressed the production of IL-17 at the mRNA level by PBMCs from healthy donors and RA patients. Suppression of IL-17 by MTX may contribute to its potent anti-inflammatory role in RA therapy.