Résumé
Objective: To study the expression of CD44 in pulmonary tuberculosis patients and explore the possible mechanisms. Methods: 236 patients suspected with pulmonary tuberculosis were selected and divided into pulmonary tuberculosis group ( n= 152) and non-pulmonary tuberculosis group ( n= 84), and 100 healthy people were randomly selected as healthy control group. The expression of CD44 was evaluated by qRT-PCR and ELISA in peripheral blood and pleural effusion from different patients. The CD44 levels at pre and post-treatment time points were determined by ELISA. The inducing factors of increased CD44 and the potentialroles played by CD44 in the pathogenesis of TB were also evaluated. We elucidated whether CD44 detection could combine with T-spot. TB to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis rapidly and accurately. Results: The expression of CD44 in pulmonary tuberculosis patients was higher compared with the non-pulmonary tuberculosis patients and healthy people, and would be down-regulated after treatment for 3, 6 and 9 months. Besides, CD44 could not remove H37 Ra by the CFU assay, and could promote the expression of CCL-2, indicating that CCD4 promote the mobility the THP-1 via induction of CCL-2. Besides, TNF-α neutralizing antibody, added into the macrophages, could inhibit the expression of CD44, and functional TNF-α induced the expression of TNF-α. Conclusion: CD44 is highly expressed in pulmonary tuberculosis patients, which may be due to the high expression of TNF-α in pulmonary tuberculosis patients, stimulating macrophages to produce CD44, and it will provide a basis for clinical diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.