C3 and ulcerative colitis: Relevant experimental studies showed that medicinal thread moxibustion upregulated serum IgG and C3 levels and downregulated IgE levels in asthmatic patients with lung deficiency,[25] increased the levels of CD3, CD4, and CD4/CD8 in the peripheral blood of patients with herpes zoster,[26] and downregulated the expression of IL-17F in ulcerative colitis patients.[27] Therefore, in this study, the mechanism of medicated thread moxibustion in the treatment of AA may be related to the regulation of Th17 or Treg cells, and relevant validation will be implemented in future experiments.