Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.
Cell Mol Immunol. 2010 Nov;7(6):485-90. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2010.40. Epub 2010 Aug 23.
Increasing evidence indicates a role for regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the immune response and in autoimmune diseases, but the role of Tregs and cytokines in autoimmune hepatic diseases remains largely unclear and controversial, especially in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). This study was undertaken to investigate Tregs and different cytokines in the liver and peripheral blood of PBC patients. We found that these patients demonstrated a reduction of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells but elevated CD4(+)Foxp3(+) T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and CD4(+) T cells. The percentage of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in PBMCs was negatively correlated with elevated plasma interferon (IFN)-γ levels. A liver-specific analysis showed that the frequency of Foxp3(+) Tregs, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and IFN-γ were increased in PBC patients. Our findings suggest that an imbalance between CD4(+)CD25(+) Tregs and cytotoxic cytokines plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PBC while the role of Foxp3 needs further investigation.
越来越多的证据表明调节性 T 细胞（Tregs）在免疫反应和自身免疫性疾病中起作用，但 Tregs 和细胞因子在自身免疫性肝疾病中的作用在很大程度上仍不清楚且存在争议，特别是在原发性胆汁性肝硬化（PBC）患者中。本研究旨在探讨 PBC 患者肝脏和外周血中的 Tregs 和不同细胞因子。我们发现，这些患者在外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）和 CD4+T 细胞中表现出 CD4+CD25+T 细胞减少，但 CD4+Foxp3+T 细胞升高。PBMC 中 CD4+CD25+T 细胞的百分比与升高的血浆干扰素（IFN）-γ水平呈负相关。肝脏特异性分析显示，PBC 患者 Foxp3+Tregs、转化生长因子（TGF）-β1 和 IFN-γ 的频率增加。我们的研究结果表明，CD4+CD25+Tregs 和细胞毒性细胞因子之间的失衡在 PBC 的发病机制中起着关键作用，而 Foxp3 的作用需要进一步研究。
