PEDEGO Research Unit and Medical Research Center (MRC) Oulu, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Box 23, 90029 OYS, Oulu, Finland.
Biomedicine Research Unit, Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Pediatr Nephrol. 2018 Feb;33(2):287-293. doi: 10.1007/s00467-017-3796-z. Epub 2017 Sep 11.
Tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) is an inflammatory disease of unknown pathogenesis. To evaluate a possible role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the pathophysiology of TIN with (TINU) and without uveitis, we investigated the presence and quantity of FOXP3 T regulatory lymphocytes in diagnostic kidney biopsies from pediatric patients.
A total of 33 patients (14 TIN and 19 TINU) were enrolled. The quantity of CD4, FOXP3 and double-positive T cells in formalin-fixed kidney biopsies was determined using double label immunohistochemistry with anti-human CD4 and FOXP3 antibodies.
FOXP3 staining was successful in all 33 patients. In patients with chronic uveitis, the density of FOXP3 cells was significantly lower (p = 0.046) than in TIN patients without uveitis or with uveitis lasting <3 months. CD4 staining was successful in 23 patients. The density of all lymphocytes (CD4, CD4FOXP3 and FOXP3 cells) was significantly lower (p = 0.023) in patients with chronic uveitis than in other patients.
FOXP3 T cells are present in kidney biopsy samples from TIN and TINU patients. In patients with chronic uveitis, the density of FOXP3 T cells is significantly lower than in other patients, suggesting a different pathomechanism for these clinical conditions.
肾小管间质性肾炎（TIN）是一种病因不明的炎症性疾病。为了评估调节性 T 细胞（Tregs）在 TIN 伴（TINU）和不伴葡萄膜炎的发病机制中的可能作用，我们研究了儿科患者诊断性肾活检中 FOXP3 T 调节性淋巴细胞的存在和数量。
共纳入 33 例患者（14 例 TIN 和 19 例 TINU）。使用抗人 CD4 和 FOXP3 抗体的双重标记免疫组化法，在福尔马林固定的肾活检组织中确定 CD4、FOXP3 和双阳性 T 细胞的数量。
在所有 33 例患者中，FOXP3 染色均成功。在慢性葡萄膜炎患者中，FOXP3 细胞的密度显著降低（p=0.046），低于无葡萄膜炎或葡萄膜炎持续时间<3 个月的 TIN 患者。在 23 例患者中 CD4 染色成功。所有淋巴细胞（CD4、CD4FOXP3 和 FOXP3 细胞）的密度在慢性葡萄膜炎患者中均显著降低（p=0.023）。
FOXP3 T 细胞存在于 TIN 和 TINU 患者的肾活检样本中。在慢性葡萄膜炎患者中，FOXP3 T 细胞的密度明显低于其他患者，提示这些临床情况的发病机制不同。
