Leung J C, Lai C K, Chui Y L, Ho R T, Chan C H, Lai K N
Clinical Immunology Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin.
Clin Exp Immunol. 1992 Oct;90(1):147-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1992.tb05847.x.
Cytokines are important mediators involved in the development of effector cells and in the regulation of immune responses. The gene expression of these mediators in T cell subset has yet to be fully elucidated. Using sensitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the kinetics of cytokine gene expression in human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were examined. CD4+ T cells were more readily activated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) than CD8+ T cells in terms of the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) mRNA expression. Quantitative differences in cytokine gene expression between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were confirmed and higher levels of cytokine mRNAs were induced in CD4+ than in CD8+ T cells. Early induction of IL-2 mRNA was observed in both T cell subsets. The demonstration of different kinetics of cytokine gene expression illustrates one of the examples of the complexity of immunoregulation. The differential response of cytokine gene expression in different T cell subsets should be taken into consideration when clinical studies in cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells are interpreted.
细胞因子是参与效应细胞发育和免疫反应调节的重要介质。这些介质在T细胞亚群中的基因表达尚未完全阐明。利用灵敏的逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR），检测了人CD4+和CD8+ T细胞中细胞因子基因表达的动力学。就白细胞介素-2受体（IL-2R）mRNA表达而言，CD4+ T细胞比CD8+ T细胞更容易被佛波酯（PMA）和植物血凝素（PHA）激活。证实了CD4+和CD8+ T细胞之间细胞因子基因表达的定量差异，且CD4+ T细胞中诱导的细胞因子mRNA水平高于CD8+ T细胞。在两个T细胞亚群中均观察到IL-2 mRNA的早期诱导。细胞因子基因表达不同动力学的证明说明了免疫调节复杂性的一个例子。在解释外周血单个核细胞产生细胞因子的临床研究时，应考虑不同T细胞亚群中细胞因子基因表达的差异反应。
