ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mRNA expressions of IL-10, IL-18 and Fas in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients of various Chinese medicine syndrome types in order to seek the objective indices for syndrome differentiation of SLE.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>SLE patients were sorted into various syndrome types by Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation. In them, patients with the 4 often encountered types were selected, i.e. the qi-xue excessive heat type (Group A, 12 patients), the Pi-Shen yang-deficiency type (Group B, 19 patients), the qi-yin deficiency with blood stasis type (Group C, 23 patients), and the qi stagnation and blood stasis with gan stagnation type (Group D, 28 patients). The mRNA expressions of IL-10, IL-18 and Fas in PBMCs were detected by SYBR Green I real time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mRNA expressions of IL-10, IL-18 and Fas in PBMC of all SLE patients (0.40 +/- 0.53, 1.41 +/- 1.93 and 0.33 +/- 0.70) were significantly higher than those in the normal control group (0.07 +/- 0.11, 0.24 +/- 0.25, 0.08 +/- 0.21, P<0.01, P<0.05), their levels in different syndrome types decreased in order of type A-->B-->C-->D. The levels of the three indices in patients of type A and B were obviously higher than those in patients of type C and D (P<0.01), while no significant difference was found between type A and B (P>0.05), and between type C and D (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The mRNA expressions of IL-10, IL-18 and Fas in PBMCs could be taken as the objective indices for reference in syndrome differentiation of SLE.</p>