Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: IL-17A-associated PTGS2 and MMP9 inflammatory signaling in ischemic stroke: clinical correlation and experimental evidence

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812571

Figure Lengend Snippet: Bioinformatics analysis prioritized PTGS2 and MMP9 as candidate inflammatory genes associated with the IL-17 signaling pathway in ischemic stroke. (A) Venn diagram showing the overlap between differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified from GEO datasets and genes retrieved from the CellAge database. Five overlapping genes were identified: PTGS2, MMP9, SERPINB2, CTNNAL1, and HTRA1. CS, genes from CellAge database; DEG, significantly differentially expressed genes in ischemic stroke. (B) Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of the overlapping genes, including biological process, cellular component, and molecular function categories. (C) Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showing that the overlapping genes were enriched in inflammation-related pathways, including the IL-17 signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway. (D) GSEA comparing ischemic stroke (IS) and control samples, demonstrating enrichment of immune- and inflammation-related pathways in IS. (E) Predicted transcription factor–target gene regulatory network for PTGS2 and MMP9, showing candidate shared upstream transcription factors. Yellow nodes represent TFs, red nodes represent target genes.

Article Snippet: Rats in the IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated group were treated with Anti-Mouse/Rat IL-17A Antibody (17F3; MedChemExpress, Cat. No. HY-P990222), a mouse IgG1κ monoclonal neutralizing antibody against mouse/rat IL-17A, via intravenous injection at 100 μg/rat immediately after reperfusion and again at 12 h post-reperfusion.

Techniques: Control

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: IL-17A-associated PTGS2 and MMP9 inflammatory signaling in ischemic stroke: clinical correlation and experimental evidence

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812571

Figure Lengend Snippet: Serum IL-17A, PTGS2, and MMP9 levels in the clinical cohort and their correlations with each other and with stroke severity. (A–C) Serum IL-17A, PTGS2, and MMP9 levels were significantly higher in patients with ischemic stroke than in healthy controls. IS, ischemic stroke (n = 104); Normal, control group (n = 58). (D) Correlations among serum IL-17A, PTGS2, and MMP9 levels in the stroke group. (E) Positive correlations between serum IL-17A, PTGS2, and MMP9 levels and admission NIHSS scores in patients with ischemic stroke. Correlations were analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.

Article Snippet: Rats in the IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated group were treated with Anti-Mouse/Rat IL-17A Antibody (17F3; MedChemExpress, Cat. No. HY-P990222), a mouse IgG1κ monoclonal neutralizing antibody against mouse/rat IL-17A, via intravenous injection at 100 μg/rat immediately after reperfusion and again at 12 h post-reperfusion.

Techniques: Control

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: IL-17A-associated PTGS2 and MMP9 inflammatory signaling in ischemic stroke: clinical correlation and experimental evidence

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812571

Figure Lengend Snippet: MCAO-induced activation of IL-17A/PTGS2/MMP9-related inflammatory markers and changes after anti-IL-17A antibody treatment in rat brain tissue. (A–C) Relative mRNA levels of PTGS2, MMP9, and IL-17A in the sham, MCAO, and anti-IL-17A Ab groups. (D–F) Protein concentrations of PTGS2, MMP9, and IL-17A. (G, H) Concentrations of PGE2 and IL-6. (I) Neurological deficit scores assessed using the Longa scoring system. In panel I, the sham group median was 0; therefore, a minimal bar height was displayed for visualization only. (J) Representative TTC-stained brain sections from the MCAO and anti-IL-17A Ab groups. White areas indicate infarct regions, whereas red areas indicate viable brain tissue. (K) Quantitative analysis of infarct volume percentage based on TTC staining. Sham, sham-operated group; Model, MCAO group; anti-IL-17A Ab, IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated MCAO group. Data in panels A-H are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 6 per group). Neurological deficit scores in panel I are presented as median (interquartile range) (n = 6 per group). TTC analysis in panels (J, K) was performed in an independent cohort of rats, with final sample sizes of n = 4 for the MCAO group and n = 5 for the anti-IL-17A Ab group; one rat in the MCAO group died before tissue collection. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.

Article Snippet: Rats in the IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated group were treated with Anti-Mouse/Rat IL-17A Antibody (17F3; MedChemExpress, Cat. No. HY-P990222), a mouse IgG1κ monoclonal neutralizing antibody against mouse/rat IL-17A, via intravenous injection at 100 μg/rat immediately after reperfusion and again at 12 h post-reperfusion.

Techniques: Activation Assay, Staining

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Article Title: IL-17A-associated PTGS2 and MMP9 inflammatory signaling in ischemic stroke: clinical correlation and experimental evidence

doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1812571

Figure Lengend Snippet: Spearman correlation analyses among IL-17A, PTGS2, MMP9, PGE2, and IL-6 in rat brain tissue. Correlation analyses were performed using pooled data from all animals (n = 18). (A) Correlation between IL-17A and PTGS2 mRNA expression. (B) Correlation between IL-17A and MMP9 mRNA expression. (C) Correlation between IL-17A and PTGS2 protein expression. (D) Correlation between IL-17A and MMP9 protein expression. (E) Correlation between IL-17A and PGE2 levels. (F) Correlation between IL-17A and IL-6 levels. Sham, sham-operated group; Model, MCAO group; anti-IL-17A Ab, IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated MCAO group. Given the limited sample size, these correlations should be interpreted with caution.

Article Snippet: Rats in the IL-17A neutralizing antibody-treated group were treated with Anti-Mouse/Rat IL-17A Antibody (17F3; MedChemExpress, Cat. No. HY-P990222), a mouse IgG1κ monoclonal neutralizing antibody against mouse/rat IL-17A, via intravenous injection at 100 μg/rat immediately after reperfusion and again at 12 h post-reperfusion.

Techniques: Expressing

Journal: Redox Biology

Article Title: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor in club cells drives Th17-mediated lung injury following inhalation exposure to environmentally persistent free radicals

doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2026.104105

Figure Lengend Snippet: Club cell AHR is required for EPFR-induced pulmonary Th17 responses and neutrophilic inflammation. (a) Schematic of the experimental design: tamoxifen was administered for 5 consecutive days to induce Cre recombinase-mediated deletion of Ahr in club cells, followed by a 7-day washout period. Male and female Cre-negative Ahr fl/fl LM or Ahr ΔCC mice were then exposed to air or EPFRs by inhalation from day 0 through day 6. Lungs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected on day 6 post-exposure. (b) Flow cytometric quantification of Th17 cells i.e. IL-17 producing CD4 + T cells (Lin − CD45 + CD3 + CD4 + ) in lungs of air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 6 to 10 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05) (c) Concatenated pseudo color dot plots of CD4 + T cells gated for IL-17A in air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 6 to 10 mice. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05) (d) Total and differential BALF cell counts from air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 4 to 6 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test; a p <0.05 compared to Air-LM and b p < 0.05 compared to EPFR-LM. (e) Representative BALF cell images from LM and Ahr ΔCC mice exposed to air or EPFR; arrows indicate neutrophils. Scale bar = 25 μm. (f-j) Analysis of BALF pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-17, KC/GRO, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) from air or EPFR-exposed LM and Ahr ΔCC mice; n = 4 to 7 mice per group. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and normalized to air controls of the respective genotype. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test (∗p < 0.05).

Article Snippet: IL-17A levels in BALF samples were measured using a commercially available Mouse IL-17A Sandwich ELISA Kit (Proteintech, Rosemont, IL; catalog# KE10020) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Techniques: