ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the roles of the chemokine receptor CXCR3 and its ligand I-TAC in the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).Methods A total of 48 ITP patients were enrolled in this study:30 with newly diagnosed or relapse ITP and 18 in remission after treatment,and 24 healthy volunteers were as controls.IFNγ and I-TAC in plasma were detected by ELISA.The mRNA expression of CXCR3 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) was determined by quantitative RT-PCR.Results The IFNγ level in the plasma of ITP patients before the treatment was obviously increased than those in the remission group and controls[ (71.45 ± 17.62)ng/L vs (36.94 ±14.86 )ng/L and (25.28 ± 12.85 )ng/L,all P ＜ 0.05 ]and those in the remission group was higher than in the controls ( P ＜ 0.05 ).In contrast,there were no statistic differences of the levels of I-TAC among the three groups[ (455.56 ± 144.70 ) ng/L,( 488.24 ± 164.70 ) ng/L and ( 382.97 ± 167.43 ) ng/L,P ＞0.05 ].Both ITP patients before the treatment and remission groups expressed more CXCR3 mRNA [ 6.76(3.03,37.00),1.76 (0.45,14.18 ) vs 0.12 ( 0.04,0.28 ),P ＜ 0.05 ].After effective therapy,CXCR3mRNA expression decreased,while it was still higher than that in the controls.Conclusions Our data demonstrate that Th1 cytokine (IFNγ) dominance is reflected in ITP.Simultaneously,the CXCR3 + cell may play a role in cell-mediated immunity through chemotaxis in ITP.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the level of I-TAC in tears of patients with dry eye syndrome and its correlation with the tear surface parameters. METHODS: I-TAC levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in tear samples collected from 33 dry eye patients (16 patients with Sjogren syndrome and 17 patients with non-Sjogren syndrome) and 15 control subjects. The correlations between I-TAC levels and tear surface parameters including tear film break-up time (BUT), basal tear secretion, tear clearance rate (TCR), corneal sensation, keratoepitheliopathy and conjunctival goblet cell density were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean levels of I-TAC were 717+/-377 pg/ml in patients with dry eye and 444+/-119 pg/ml in control subjects (P=0.003). The mean levels in Sjogren syndrome patients (1261+/-324 pg/ml) were significantly higher than those of non-Sjogren syndrome patients (614+/-131 pg/ml, P=0.003). I-TAC levels correlated significantly with basal tear secretion (P=0.006), TCR (P=0.007), keratoepitheliopathy (P=0.022) and goblet cell density (P<0.001), but did not correlate with BUT (P=0.110) and corneal sensation (P=0.090). CONCLUSIONS: The level of I-TAC is elevated in tears of patients with dry eye syndrome including Sjogren syndrome. The level correlates with disease severity and tear surface parameters.