Changes of regulatory B cells in patients with acute Kawasaki disease and its significance / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the role of regulatory B cells ( Breg ) in the immunological pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease ( KD) .Methods Twenty-eight children with acute KD and twenty-eight age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this study .Blood samples were collected before and after the treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).The proportions of CD19+CD24hiCD38hi Breg and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+regulatory T cells (Treg), and the expressions of co-stimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86 and PD-L1) were analyzed by flow cytometry .The concentration of IL-10 protein was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay .Real-time PCR was performed to evaluate the expressions of Foxp 3, CTLA4 and GITR in CD4+T cells and IL-10 in CD19+B cells at mRNA level.Results (1) The proportions of CD19+CD24hi CD38hi Breg in peripheral blood and the expressions of IL-10 at mRNA level in CD19+B cells from patients with KD were lower than those from healthy controls (P0.05).(3) The proportions of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg and the expressions of Foxp3, CTLA-4 and GITR at mRNA level were significantly decreased in KD group compared with those in control group (P<0.05), but were increased to some extent after IVIG treatment (P<0.05). In addition, a positive correlation between the proportion of CD 19+CD24hiCD38hi Breg and the proportion of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg was found in patient with acute KD (r=0.62, P<0.05).Conclusion Breg cell deficiency and its impaired function might be one of the important factors causing immune dysfunction in pa -tients with acute KD .