P-selectin gene -2123 polymorphism in children with Henoch-Sch-nlein purpura / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether P-selectin gene -2123 polymorphism is associated with the pathogenesis of Henoch-Sch-nlein purpura (HSP) in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) is used to identify the distribution of allele and genotype frequencies of P-selectin gene promoter -2123 polymorphism in 86 children with HSP (including 40 cases of purpura nephritis) and 70 healthy controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the healthy controls, the frequencies of GG genotype and G allele of P-selectin promoter -2123 in children with HSP increased significantly (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in P-selectin promoter -2123 genotype and allele frequencies between the patients with and without nephritis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>P-selectin gene promoter -2123 polymorphism appears to be associated with the pathogenesis of HSP in children.</p>

Polarization and immune regulation of TH cells in children with bronchial asthma / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the polarization and immune regulation of TH cells in patients with bronchial asthma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-eight hospitalized children with bronchial asthma (ranging from 4-12 years old) and 29 age-matched healthy children (Control group) were enrolled in this study. Serum IL-2 and IFN-gamma levels were detected using ELISA. The percentage of TH1 and TH2 cells was detected by intracellular staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum levels of IL-2 (15.94 +/- 3.07 microg/L) and IFN-gamma (487.2 +/- 43.6 pg/mL ) in asthmatic patients were significantly lower than those in the Control group (24.73 +/- 4.37 microg/L and 654.07 +/- 14.64 pg/mL respectively; P < 0.01). The percentage of TH1 in asthmatic patients decreased significantly compared with that in the Control group [(11.24 +/- 2.43)% vs (16.67 +/- 2.73)%; P < 0.01]; in contrast, the percentage of TH2 increased compared with that in the Control group [(19.85 +/- 4.46)% vs (16.08 +/- 6.17)%; P < 0.05].</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The serum levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, and the number of TH1 cells decreased in asthmatic patients. The decreased number of TH1 cells and the ratio of TH1/TH2 suggest an abnormal polarization of TH1 and TH2 cells. The changes may be associated with the inhibition of cellular immune function in asthmatic patients.</p>