FOXP3 and coronary atherosclerosis: Consistently, some alterations reflectingthe Treg/Th17 imbalance and immune dysfunction were also reported in our study.While the serum Treg cell frequencies, mRNA expression of Foxp3, and serum levelsof the anti-inflammatory cytokines TGF-β and IL-10 were significantlyreduced in CAD group, markedly enhanced frequencies of Th17 cells were observedin patients with coronary atherosclerosis, accompanied by higher levels of RORCmRNA expression and the serum proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-17, andIL-23 (p < 0.05).