Description
The interleukin-23 (IL-23) pathway plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple chronic inflammatory disorders, however, inter-individual variability in IL-23-induced signal transduction in circulating human lymphocytes has not been well-defined. In this study, we observed marked, reproducible inter-individual differences in IL-23 responsiveness (measured by STAT3 phosphorylation) in peripheral blood CD8+CD45RO+ memory T and CD3+CD56+ NKT cells. To define mechanisms that might be contributing to the differential IL-23-induced STAT3 activation between individuals, we examined mRNA expression differences in CD8+CD45RO+ memory T cells between IL-23 responsive and non-responsive individuals.