RESUMO
Objective:To investigate the level of peripheral blood regulatory T cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its clinical significance.Methods:A total of 191 patients with RA in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University and 86 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled from January 2019 to January 2021. All peripheral blood CD4 + T lymphocyte subsets of participants were assessed by flow cytometry. Patients were divided into RA-CVD group ( n=71) and RA only group ( n=120) and their clinical data were recorded. The differences between the groups were analyzed by Independent-Samples t test, Mann-Whitney U test or χ2 test, and risk factors that affected CVD were analyzed using Logistic regression. Results:① The age of patients and the proportion of male patients in the RA-CVD group were significantly higher than those in the RA only group [age: (64±10) years old vs (56±12) years old, t=-4.16, P<0.001; male patients: 35 cases vs 31 cases, χ2=10.86, P=0.001]. ② The level of Treg cells in the peripheral blood of patients with RA only and RA-CVD groups was significantly lower than that of HCs ( Z=-4.14, P<0.001; Z=-6.27, P<0.001), while the numbers of peripheral Th17 cells in the two groups of patients were not significantly different from those of HCs ( P>0.05). The ratios of Th17/Treg cells in the two group patients were higher than those of HCs, but only the difference between RA-CVD patients and HCs was significant ( Z=-5.49, P<0.001). ③ Compared with the RA only group, the absolute number of Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA-CVD group was significantly lower [19.00(13.62, 26.73) vs 24.94 (19.32, 34.12), Z=-3.19, P=0.001], the level of Th17 cells was significantly higher [absolute number: 7.77 (3.86, 13.64) cell/μl vs 5.59 (3.49, 8.91) cells/μl, Z=-2.14, P=0.033; percentage: 1.37%(0.78, 2.00)% vs 0.80%(0.56, 1.24)%, Z=-4.20, P<0.001], and the ratio of Th17/Treg cells was significantly higher [0.40(0.24, 0.62) vs 0.23(0.14, 0.35), Z=-4.46, P<0.001]. ④ Logistic regression analysis showed that Treg cell [ OR(95% CI)=0.934 (0.903, 0.967)] was a protective factor, while elder age [ OR(95% CI)=1.038(1.003, 1.074), male [ OR(95% CI)=2.450(1.005, 5.973)], hypertension [ OR(95% CI)=2.654 (1.219, 5.779)] and Th17 cell [ OR (95% CI)=1.066 (1.019, 1.116)] were risk factors of RA complicated with CVD. Conclusion:The level of Treg cells in peripheral blood of RA patients with CVD decreases significantly, and the immune imbalance of Th17/Treg is more singificant than that of RA patients without CVD. It is suggested that the immune imbalance and dysfunction caused by the number and/or functional deficiency of Treg cells may be involved in the occurrence and development of RA complicated with CVD.
RESUMO
Objective To investigate the effect of galectin-3 (Gal-3) on the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).Methods The clinic data of 72 PBC patients at different stages were analyzed and the serum levels of Gal-3 were detected in 72 PBC patients and 20 controls by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Independent t-test,variance analysis,LSD-t and Pearson correlation analysis were adopted for data analysis.Results The serum Gal-3 levels were significantly higher in PBC patients than those of healthy controls [(855±634) pg/ml,(463±446) pg/ml,P＜0.05].With the progression of disease,the levels of Gal-3,platelets,hemoglobin,albumin,IgM and complement C3 gradually declined,but the level of total bilirubin gradually elevated(P＜0.05).There was positive correlation between Gal-3 and immunoglobin IgM,complement C3 levels (r=0.330,P=0.005; r=0.357,P=0.002).There was negative correlation between Gal-3 and total bilirubin levels (r=0.350,P=0.003).Conclusion The Gal-3 can participate in the immune-mediated inflammation of PBC and the formation of liver fibrosis.The levels of Gal-3,platelet count,hemoglobin,albumin,IgM,complement C3 and total bilirubin could be regarded as laboratory parameters for the evaluation of the disease severity and prognosis.
RESUMO
Objective To study the association between the CTLA-4 gene polymorphism and Graves disease.Methods A total of 120 unrelated patients with Graves disease southern Han nationality of China were recruited from clinics in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism,the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from 2001 to 2003.Ethnically matched 123 control subjects with no history of autoimmune disease were from Guangdong.We investigated the polymorphism of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 gene on chromosome 2q33.1 microsatellite markers of CTLA4 were chosen,this was done by PCR amplification of marker sequences using fluorescently labeled primers and subsequent analysis of the PCR products on ABI prism 377.Results Twenty alleles were observed in the population,with sizes ranging from 84 to 144 bp.There was no significant difference when compared with controls in the distribution of the genotypes(?2=21.428,P=0.208).This investigation indicated that the gene of CTLA4 was not susceptible gene for Graves disease.Conclusion This study suggests that CTLA4 gene may not be susceptible gene to Graves disease for the Chinese southern Han population.