ABSTRACT
Objective To test the expression of MIF in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)from patients with Cry-tococcal Meningitis and further discuss its clinical significance.Methods Peripheral blood from 42 patients with Crytococcal Meningitis diagnosed in Changhai Hospital,Shanghai and 42 healthy individuals examined at the same time was collected from August,2012 to November,2015.PBMCs were separated by density gradient centrifugation method,mRNA relative expression of MIF in PBMCs was measured by PCR,the level of MIF,IL-17,IL-1β,TNF-α,IFN-γand IL-4 in plasma was tested by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The comparison for expression level of cytokines between the two groups was by two-independent samples t test.Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure the relation between MIF and other cytokines.Results The protein levels of MIF in experimental and controlled groups were 34.17±7.88 ng/ml vs 10.89±2.76 ng/ml(t=18.07,P<0.0001),while relative expression of RNA was 2.87±0.94 vs 1.95±0.89(t=4.606,P<0.0001),and there was statistical significance (P<0.005).Pearson correlation analysis showed that MIF was positively related with IL-1β,IL-17 (r=0.467,0.401,P<0.01),with statisticaldifference.Conclusion MIF may involve in the im-mune regulation for Crytococcal Meningitis by affecting the secretion and function of cytokines as IL-1β,IL-17,and it was potential target and monitored biomarker for this disease.