Increased Prevalence of Circulating Novel IL-17 Secreting Foxp3 Expressing CD4+ T Cells and Defective Suppressive Function of Circulating Foxp3+ Regulatory Cells Support Plasticity Between Th17 and Regulatory T Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

BackgroundIL-17 and Foxp3 double-expressing (DE) CD4+ T lymphocytes are novel crossover immune cell population, but the presence and role of these cells in human intestinal inflammation is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the circulating IL-17 and Foxp3 DE CD4+ T lymphocytes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).