The therapeutic potential of Dihydroartemisinin for autoimmune disease: Effects on the Th17/Treg balance.

Autoimmune diseases (AID) are chronic inflammatory conditions resulting from aberrant recognition of self-antigens by the immune system. Appropriate ratios of the subsets of CD4+ T cells, T helper cells 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg), are necessary for immune homeostasis with imbalances associated with immune dysregulation and AID. These observations imply that restoration of Th17/Treg balance may represent a therapeutic approach for AID. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a metabolite of artemisinin which has been shown to suppress excessive Th17 cell differentiation, restoring Th17/Treg balance and ameliorating AID. The current review summarizes recent progress on DHA and adjustment of Th17/Treg balance in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Reference material was largely from that indexed in PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Google Scholar and Wanfang Database between 2010 and 2025 with a few studies from 2008 and a focus on publications from the last five years.