Lin Ze-Wei, Wu Li-Xuan, Xie Yong, Ou Xi, Tian Pei-Kai, Liu Xiao-Ping, Min Jun, Wang Jie, Chen Ru-Fu, Chen Ya-Jing, Liu Chao, Ye Hua, Ou Qing-Jia
1. Department of HepatobiliaryLaparoscope-Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518036, China;
2. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Central People Hospital of Huizhou City, Huizhou, Guangdong, China 516001;
Int J Med Sci. 2015 Jan 1;12(1):7-16. doi: 10.7150/ijms.8352. eCollection 2015.
To investigate the expression of transcriptional factors (TFs) T-bet, GATA-3, RORγt and FOXP in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate the correlation between the imbalances of Th1/Th2, Th17/Treg at the expression levels and liver cancer Methods: The peripheral venous blood was drawn from 20 HCC-patients (HCC-group) and 20 health participants (C-group). The expression levels of Th1, Th2 and Th17 and the major Treg-specific TFs T-bet, GATA-3, RORγt and FOXP3 in the PBMC were measured with quantitative real-time PCR(RT-qPCR).
The mRNA level of Th1-specific TF T-bet in HCC-group was significantly lower than that of C-group (52.34±34.07 VS 104.01±56.00, P<0.01); the mRNA level of Th2-specifc TF, GATA-3, in HCC group was significantly higher than that in C-group (1.38±1.15 VS 0.58±0.65, P<0.05) and T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA ratio was significantly lower in HCC-group than in C-group (86.01±116.71 VS 461.88±708.81, P<0.05). The mRNA level of Th17-specific TF RORγt in HCC-group was significantly higher than that of C-group (72.32±32.82 VS 33.07±22.86, P<0.01). Treg-specific TF FOXP3 mRNA level was significant higher in HCC-group than in C-group (3.17±1.59 VS 1.39±1.13, P<0.01) CONCLUSION: T-bet mRNA level was reduced whereas GATA-3 mRNA level was increased and T-bet/GATA-3 ratio was significantly reduced in PBMC, indicating that Th1/Th2 ratio was of imbalance at TF levels in PBMC of HCC, displaying Th2 thrift phenomena. The mRNA levels of RORγt and FOXP3 in PBMC of HCC were significantly increased, indicating the existence of a predominant phenomenon of Th17- and Treg-expressing PBMC in HCC.
研究转录因子（TFs）T-bet、GATA-3、RORγt和FOXP在肝细胞癌（HCC）患者外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）中的表达情况，并评估Th1/Th2、Th17/Treg表达水平失衡与肝癌之间的相关性。方法：采集20例HCC患者（HCC组）和20例健康参与者（C组）的外周静脉血。采用定量实时荧光定量PCR（RT-qPCR）检测PBMC中Th1、Th2和Th17以及主要Treg特异性TFs T-bet、GATA-3、RORγt和FOXP3的表达水平。
HCC组Th1特异性TF T-bet的mRNA水平显著低于C组（52.34±34.07对104.01±56.00，P<0.01）；HCC组Th2特异性TF GATA-3的mRNA水平显著高于C组（1.38±1.15对0.58±0.65，P<0.05），且HCC组T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA比值显著低于C组（86.01±116.71对461.88±708.81，P<0.05）。HCC组Th17特异性TF RORγt的mRNA水平显著高于C组（72.32±32.82对33.07±22.86，P<0.01）。Treg特异性TF FOXP3 mRNA水平在HCC组显著高于C组（3.17±1.59对1.39±1.13，P<0.01）。结论：PBMC中T-bet mRNA水平降低而GATA-3 mRNA水平升高且T-bet/GATA-3比值显著降低，表明HCC患者PBMC中TF水平上Th1/Th2比值失衡，呈现Th2优势现象。HCC患者PBMC中RORγt和FOXP3的mRNA水平显著升高，表明HCC中存在表达Th17和Treg的PBMC占优势的现象。
