Balouchi Sima, Gharagozloo Marjan, Esmaeil Nafiseh, Mirmoghtadaei Milad, Moayedi Behjat
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences , Isfahan , Iran .
Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2014 Aug;36(4):271-4. doi: 10.3109/08923973.2014.926916. Epub 2014 Jun 19.
Abstract Several immunological abnormalities have been characterized in β-thalassemia, many of which are linked to or identified with cytokines. In this study, we investigated the serum levels of TGF-β, IL-10, IL-17 and IL-23 in β-thalassemia major patients in comparison with healthy controls. The immunomodulatory effect of silymarin (a flavonoid complex obtained from Silybum marinum) on the serum levels of cytokines was further evaluated in thalassemia patients receiving silymarin (420 mg/day) and compared with patients treated with placebo for 6-month. Serum cytokines levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed a significant higher concentration of TGF-β and IL-23 in the patient group than control group. Among studied cytokines, a significant reduction in serum IL-10 levels was found in patients treated with silymarin when compared with IL-10 values at baseline. However, no significant difference was observed between baseline values of cytokine compared with end values in placebo group. Our data suggest the presence of imbalanced immune condition involving inflammation and immunosuppression in thalassemia patients, which could be modulated to a more effective immune response by silymarin.
β地中海贫血已表现出多种免疫异常，其中许多与细胞因子有关或由细胞因子所介导。在本研究中，我们调查了重型β地中海贫血患者与健康对照者血清中转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）、白细胞介素-10（IL-10）、白细胞介素-17（IL-17）和白细胞介素-23（IL-23）的水平。进一步评估了水飞蓟宾（一种从水飞蓟中获得的黄酮类化合物）对接受水飞蓟宾（420毫克/天）治疗的地中海贫血患者血清细胞因子水平的免疫调节作用，并与接受安慰剂治疗6个月的患者进行比较。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法检测血清细胞因子水平。结果显示，患者组中TGF-β和IL-23的浓度显著高于对照组。在所研究的细胞因子中，与基线时的IL-10值相比，接受水飞蓟宾治疗的患者血清IL-10水平显著降低。然而，安慰剂组细胞因子的基线值与最终值之间未观察到显著差异。我们的数据表明，地中海贫血患者存在涉及炎症和免疫抑制的免疫失衡状态，水飞蓟宾可将其调节为更有效的免疫反应。
