The mechanism of hypogammaglobuinemia caused by ketongenic diet / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the possible mechanism of hypogammaglobuinemia caused by ketongenic diet (KD).Methods Thirty-six children with intractable epilepsy (IP) and seventeen age-matched healthy children were recruited in this study.The percentages of B cells at various stages of devel-opment and follicular helper T ( Tfh) cells were detected by flow cytometry.The plasma concentrations of IL-21 were determined by ELISA.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of mam-malian target of rapamycin ( mTOR) , Blimp-1, Bcl-6 and IL-21 at mRNA level in CD4+T cells.Results mTOR at mRNA level was significantly down-regulated after KD treatment (P<0.05).The numbers of Tfh cells were positively correlated with the transcriptional level of mTOR (r=-0.691, P<0.05).Conclusion KD treatment might down-regulate Tfh and B cells through suppressing the expression of mTOR at mRNA level, suggesting a possible mechanism of hypogammaglobuinemia induced by KD treatment.