Imbalance of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg responses in children with refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) pneumonia is usually a benign self-limiting disease, but some patients suffer from acute lung injury in MP infections who need to use immune-modulators with conventional antibiotic treatment. The imbalance between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+regulatory T (Treg) cells and T helper (Th17) cells has been found in a number of different inflammation and autoimmune disease, while the role of the Th17/Treg balance in MP pneumonia remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the Th17/Treg pattern and its impact on disease severity in patients with MP pneumonia.