Regulation of the expression of Th2 cytokines by p38MAPK in asthmatic rats / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM: To explore the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in the regulation of IL-4 and IL-5 expression in asthmatic rats. METHODS: T lymphocytes were isolated and purified from blood of normal or asthmatic rats. p38MAPK in nuclear extracts, mRNA and protein of IL-4 and IL-5 in supernatants were measured by Western blotting, in situ hybridization and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: The expression of p38MAPK, the percentage of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA positive cells, IL-4 and IL-5 protein in supernatants were significantly increased in asthmatic T lymphocytes and was blocked by SB203580, a selective inhibitor of p38MAPK. There were good positive correlation between the expression of p38MAPK and either the percentage of positive cells of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA (r=0.71, 0.63, P