Soluble CD40L promotes proliferation of orbital fibroblasts and expression of hyaluronan synthase in patients with thyroid associated ophthalmopathy / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of soluble CD40L (sCD40L) on proliferation of orbital fibroblasts (OFs) and the expression of three types of hyaluronan synthase (HAS) in vitro, so as to explore the role of sCD40L in the pathogenesis of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). Methods OFs obtained from 5 patients with TAO and 3 normal controls were primarily culutred. The effect of different concentrations of sCD40L (6.25,12.5,25,50,100 and 200 ng/mL) on proliferation of OFs of different sources were examined by MTS after 48 h exposure. OFs were also cultured with different concentrations of sCD40L (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 ng/mL) for 3,6,12 and 24 h, and then the expression levels of HAS 1-3 mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR. Results Treatment with sCD40L at concentrations higher than 25 ng/mL for 48 h obviously promoted the proliferation of OFs in patients with TAO (P<0.05). In contrast, treatment with sCD40L only at concentrations higher than 50 ng/mL for 48 h could promote proliferation of OFs from normal control, and the effect was comparatively weak. HAS3 mRNA expression of OFs in TAO patients was increased after exposed to sCD40L (P<0.05), and the increase was in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Conclusion sCD40L can promote the proliferation of OFs and expression of HAS3 mRNA in patients with TAO, which implies that sCD40L plays an important role in the pathogenesis of TAO.