Role Of IL-17 In The Mechanism Of Atrial Fibrosis And Its Predictive Value For Recurrence Of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation After Catheter Ablation

Atrial fibrillation(AF) is one of the most common arrhythmia with high prevalence in China. Patients with AF can develop some serious complications such as chronic heart failure and stroke at its late stage. Although diagnose of AF is well known, its mechanism remains unclear. Studies showed that atrial remodeling was one of the important pathophysiological mechanisms of the occurrence and persistence of AF. Atrial fibrosis is the hallmark of atrial remodeling. Lots of studies showed that pathophysiological mechanisms of atrial fibrosis were mainly as follows:renin angiotensin aldosterone system(RAAS), transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1) signaling pathways and inflammation. Meanwhile, a large number of recent studies found that many kinds of immune cells were involved in the occurrence and development of atrial fibrosis. The abnormal infiltration of a variety of immune cells was detected in atrial tissue of patients with AF, which was closely associated with occurrence and development of AF. Interleukin 17(IL-17) secreted by T helper 17(Th17) cell is an important inflammatory factor, regulating the immunity of body, and it was also involved in the process of various organs’ fibrosis, such as lung, liver,kidney and so on. However, the role of IL-17 in AF and atrial fibrosis is not completely clear. Thus, we will detect the correlation between IL-17 and AF and atrial fibrosis in patients; confirm the role of IL-17 in atrial fibrosis in animal models;further investigate the effect of IL-17 on the cellular and biological behaviors of atrial fibroblasts. In the clinical trial, we will further evaluate the value of serum IL-17 level in predicting prognosis of catheter ablation in patients with long-standing persistent AF(L-S AF).