IL-6 neutralization prevents Th17 cell differentiation from naïve CD4⁺ T cells.

<p>Representative FCM results. <i>(A)</i> Frequencies of Th17/Treg cells detected in PBMCs from HD after stimulation with ACS patient sera (upper panel) and with the indicated cytokines (lower panel). Cells cultured <i>in vitro</i> with plate bound anti-CD3 and soluble anti-CD28. Data are representative of 5 independent experiments. <i>(B-D)</i> Naïve T cells from HDs were initially obtained by MACS and cells were stimulated in the presence of sera from allogeneic HDs or patients with varying levels of IL-6 and TGF-β1, as previously described. Shown are the IgG control (upper panel) and the anti-IL-6 treatment (lower panel). After 7 days of culture, the frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells <i>(B)</i> and the levels of pSTAT3 <i>(C)</i> and RORγt <i>(D)</i> were measured by FCM. *: <i>P</i>&lt;0.05 is considered statistically significant.