Shirai Toshihiro, Inui Naoki, Suda Takafumi, Chida Kingo
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shizuoka General Hospital, Japan.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006 Sep;118(3):622-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2006.05.005. Epub 2006 Jun 21.
Recent studies suggest that T(H)1/T(H)2 and T(C)1/T(C)2 cell imbalances are implicated in asthma pathogenesis. However, the relationship of T-cell profiles to airway inflammation has not been understood.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the correlation between peripheral blood T-cell profiles and airway inflammatory parameters.
Subjects included 21 patients with atopic asthma and 20 healthy control subjects. After stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin, flow cytometry was used to analyze intracellular cytokine staining for IFN-gamma and IL-4 in peripheral blood CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Airway inflammation was assessed by using exhaled nitric oxide analysis and induced sputum eosinophil counts.
There were a significantly increased proportion of IL-4-producing CD4(+) T cells (median, 2.7% [interquartile range, 2.4% to 3.3%] vs 1.8% [interquartile range, 1.3% to 2.7%]) and a lower ratio of IFN-gamma-producing/IL-4-producing CD4(+) T cells (7.3% [interquartile range, 5.8% to 9.5%] vs 10.0% [interquartile range, 8.8% to 13.2%]) in asthmatic patients compared with in healthy subjects (P < .01) but no increase or decrease in the proportion of IFN-gamma-producing CD4(+) T cells. No significant difference was found in the proportion of IFN-gamma- or IL-4-producing CD8(+) T cells between the 2 groups. The proportion of IL-4-producing CD4(+) T cells was significantly correlated with exhaled nitric oxide (r = 0.48, P < .05) and induced sputum eosinophil counts (r = 0.50, P < .05).
These findings indicate a correlation between peripheral blood T(H)2 cytokine production and markers of airway inflammation.
There is an association between immune function and clinical indicators in asthma.
近期研究表明，辅助性T细胞1/辅助性T细胞2（Th1/Th2）及调节性T细胞1/调节性T细胞2（Treg1/Treg2）细胞失衡与哮喘发病机制有关。然而，T细胞谱与气道炎症之间的关系尚不清楚。
本研究旨在阐明外周血T细胞谱与气道炎症参数之间的相关性。
研究对象包括21例特应性哮喘患者和20名健康对照者。用佛波酯12-肉豆蔻酸酯13-乙酸酯和离子霉素刺激后，采用流式细胞术分析外周血CD4(+)和CD8(+) T细胞中干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）和白细胞介素-4（IL-4）的细胞内细胞因子染色情况。通过呼出一氧化氮分析和诱导痰嗜酸性粒细胞计数评估气道炎症。
与健康受试者相比，哮喘患者中产生IL-4的CD4(+) T细胞比例显著增加（中位数：2.7%[四分位间距，2.4%至3.3%]对1.8%[四分位间距，1.3%至2.7%]），产生IFN-γ的CD4(+) T细胞与产生IL-4的CD4(+) T细胞的比例降低（7.3%[四分位间距，5.8%至9.5%]对10.0%[四分位间距，8.8%至13.2%]）（P < 0.01），但产生IFN-γ的CD4(+) T细胞比例无增加或减少。两组之间产生IFN-γ或IL-4的CD8(+) T细胞比例无显著差异。产生IL-4的CD4(+) T细胞比例与呼出一氧化氮（r = 0.48，P < 0.05）和诱导痰嗜酸性粒细胞计数（r = 0.50，P < 0.05）显著相关。
这些发现表明外周血Th2细胞因子产生与气道炎症标志物之间存在相关性。
哮喘患者的免疫功能与临床指标之间存在关联。
