Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran AND Allergy Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Rheumatic Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran AND Department of Internal Medicine, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2022 Feb 6;21(1):35-43. doi: 10.18502/ijaai.v21i1.8611.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is known to be the most prevalent form of joint disease. We conducted this clinical trial to investigate the effects of KrocinaTM, a natural product containing crocin, on the gene expression of unique transcription factors of various T cell subsets in patients with OA. We collected 40 peripheral blood samples of OA patients receiving Krocina™ and equal number of those who took a placebo (IRCT2015021910507N2, NCT03375814). RNA extraction was performed from the cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the OA patients who received Krocina™ and placebo and SYBR Green Real-time PCR technique was applied to assess the relative gene expression of T-bet, GATA3, ROR-γt, and FOXP3 as the unique transcription factors of various T cell subsets. The relative gene expression of T-bet and ROR-γt insignificantly decreased in the Krocina™ receiving group as compared to the placebo group. In addition, the relative gene expressions of GATA-3 and FOXP3 after the treatment with KrocinaTM showed a significant and insignificant increase, respectively. Moreover, an insignificant decrease was observed in the gene expression of GATA-3 and FOXP3 in the placebo group. A significant and insignificant decrease in the gene expression of T-bet and ROR- γt was detected in the OA patients who received a placebo. GATA-3 is known as a unique transcription factor for the differentiation of T-cells to the Th2 subset. The significant increase in the gene expression of GATA-3 in the patients with OA treated with crocin may suggest the beneficial effect of crocin on shifting towards the Th2 subset and enhancing an anti-inflammatory condition.
骨关节炎（OA）是最常见的关节疾病。我们进行了这项临床试验，以研究含有藏红花素的天然产物 KrocinaTM 对 OA 患者各种 T 细胞亚群独特转录因子的基因表达的影响。我们收集了 40 名接受 KrocinaTM 治疗的 OA 患者和接受安慰剂治疗的 OA 患者的外周血样本（IRCT2015021910507N2，NCT03375814）。从接受 KrocinaTM 和安慰剂的 OA 患者培养的外周血单核细胞中提取 RNA，并应用 SYBR Green 实时 PCR 技术评估 T-bet、GATA3、ROR-γt 和 FOXP3 作为各种 T 细胞亚群的独特转录因子的相对基因表达。与安慰剂组相比，接受 KrocinaTM 治疗的组中 T-bet 和 ROR-γt 的相对基因表达显着降低。此外，KrocinaTM 治疗后 GATA-3 和 FOXP3 的相对基因表达分别显着和显着增加。此外，安慰剂组 GATA-3 和 FOXP3 的基因表达显着下降。接受安慰剂的 OA 患者的 T-bet 和 ROR-γt 基因表达显着和显着降低。GATA-3 是 T 细胞向 Th2 亚群分化的独特转录因子。接受藏红花素治疗的 OA 患者 GATA-3 基因表达显着增加可能表明藏红花素对转向 Th2 亚群和增强抗炎状态有益。
