Department of Neurology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, 154 Anshan Road, Heping District, Tianjin 300052, China.
Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin, China.
J Clin Neurosci. 2021 Apr;86:289-293. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.11.017. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
This study aims to explore the serum levels of IL-27 and the percentages of IL-27-producing cells in MG patients with positive acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-MG).
A total of 17 AChR-MG patients and 22 sex- and age- matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Serum IL-27 levels were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The percentages of IL-27 cells, IL-27-producing T (CD3IL-27) cells, and IL-27-producing B (CD19IL-27) cells were measured by flow cytometry.
Serum IL-27 levels in AChR-MG were significantly higher than those in HCs (13.44 ± 0.89 vs 7.14 ± 0.75 pg/mL, P < 0.0001), and were decreased after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment (P = 0.004). Moreover, the frequencies of IL-27 lymphocytes were significantly elevated in AChR-MG patients than those in HCs (P = 0.011), and were decreased after IVIG treatment (P = 0.014). Furthermore, the frequencies of IL-27-producing T cells (P = 0.017) and IL-27-producing B cells (P = 0.015) were significantly elevated in AChR-MG patients as compared to those in HCs. Meanwhile, we observed positive correlations between the frequencies of IL-27 lymphocytes and MG-ADL score (P = 0.030, r = 0.527). By contrast, no significant correlation was found between IL and 27 serum levels and MG-ADL score (P = 0.099, r = -0.414).
IL-27 may play an important role in the pathological process in AChR-MG patients, and the frequencies of IL-27-producing (CD3IL-27) T cells may be a potential biomarker for predicting the severity of AChR-MG.
本研究旨在探讨肌萎缩侧索硬化症（MG）患者血清白细胞介素-27（IL-27）水平及 IL-27 产生细胞的比例。
共招募了 17 名乙酰胆碱受体抗体阳性（AChR-MG）MG 患者和 22 名性别和年龄匹配的健康对照者（HCs）。采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）测定血清 IL-27 水平，流式细胞术测定 IL-27 细胞、IL-27 产生 T 细胞（CD3IL-27）和 IL-27 产生 B 细胞（CD19IL-27）的比例。
AChR-MG 患者血清 IL-27 水平明显高于 HCs（13.44±0.89 比 7.14±0.75pg/mL，P＜0.0001），静脉注射免疫球蛋白（IVIG）治疗后降低（P=0.004）。此外，AChR-MG 患者 IL-27 淋巴细胞频率明显高于 HCs（P=0.011），IVIG 治疗后降低（P=0.014）。此外，AChR-MG 患者 IL-27 产生 T 细胞（P=0.017）和 IL-27 产生 B 细胞（P=0.015）的频率明显高于 HCs。同时，我们观察到 IL-27 淋巴细胞频率与 MG-ADL 评分呈正相关（P=0.030，r=0.527）。相反，IL-27 血清水平与 MG-ADL 评分之间无明显相关性（P=0.099，r=-0.414）。
IL-27 可能在 AChR-MG 患者的病理过程中发挥重要作用，IL-27 产生（CD3IL-27）T 细胞的频率可能是预测 AChR-MG 严重程度的潜在标志物。
