On the other hand, whereas no significant expansion of CXCR3-CCR6+ T cells (Th17 phenotype) was found within CXCR5 + CD4+T cells in patients with an active disease (Figure 3B), Th17 cell frequency was highly significantly increased in active SLE patients (33±4.7% vs 18.6±1.2% in healthy individuals, p< 0.001; Figure 4). This evidence concerns the gene CCR6 and systemic lupus erythematosus.