Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in apparently healthy subjects / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the changes in the expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and elucidate the inflammatory status of apparently healthy subjects.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Peripheral blood samples (5 ml) were collected after fasting for more than 8 h from 14 healthy control subjects and 14 apparently healthy subjects with elevated serum high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) level (≥ 2.0 mg/L). PBMCs were separated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and the total RNA was extracted for real-time quantitative PCR analysis of the inflammatory cytokines, and plasma was separated for ELISA analysis of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expressions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The gene expressions of TNF-α and MCPIP were significantly increased in PBMCs of apparently healthy subjects, while IL-6 and MCP-1 only showed slight elevations; IL-10 expression in PBMCs decreased significantly in apparently healthy subjects as compared to that in the control group. The results of ELISA showed significantly elevated TNF-α level without significant changes of plasma IL-6 level in apparently healthy subjects.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In apparently healthy subjects with normal lipid levels, chronic low-grade inflammation has occurred shown by elevated expressions of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and lowered expressions of the anti-inflammatory cytokines.</p>