Shimizu T, Abe R, Ohkawara A, Mizue Y, Nishihira J
Department of Dermatology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 Nov 7;240(1):173-8. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1997.7633.
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is one of the immunoregulatory cytokines involved in T-cell activation and delayed-type hypersensitivity. To elucidate involvement of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD), we examined serum MIF concentrations of patients with AD and non-atopic normal healthy individuals. The mean serum MIF concentration of the AD patients (n = 36) was 36.4 +/- 3.7 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM), whereas that of the non-atopic dermatitis patients (n = 17) or healthy individuals (n = 61) were 13.1 +/- 1.8 or 6.5 +/- 0.45 ng/ml, respectively. Accordingly, immunohistochemistry of the inflammatory skin lesion of an AD patient demonstrated that MIF protein was diffusely expressed throughout the whole epidermal layer. After 4-week steroid ointment treatment, the MIF concentration decreased as clinical symptoms improved. The serum level of TNF-alpha was also decreased in parallel with that of MIF. Considering the T-cell dysfunction and disordered cytokine-network reported in AD, it was strongly suggested that MIF was a critical protein for immunoregulation in the pathophysiological mechanism of AD. In this context, MIF may become a useful laboratory parameter to comprehend the clinical course of the disease.
巨噬细胞移动抑制因子（MIF）是参与T细胞活化和迟发型超敏反应的免疫调节细胞因子之一。为阐明该细胞因子在特应性皮炎（AD）发病机制中的作用，我们检测了AD患者和非特应性正常健康个体的血清MIF浓度。AD患者（n = 36）的血清MIF平均浓度为36.4 +/- 3.7 ng/ml（平均值 +/- SEM），而非特应性皮炎患者（n = 17）或健康个体（n = 61）的血清MIF平均浓度分别为13.1 +/- 1.8或6.5 +/- 0.45 ng/ml。因此，对一名AD患者的炎症性皮肤病变进行免疫组织化学检测显示，MIF蛋白在整个表皮层中弥漫性表达。经过4周的类固醇软膏治疗后，随着临床症状改善，MIF浓度降低。TNF-α的血清水平也与MIF的血清水平平行下降。考虑到AD中报道的T细胞功能障碍和细胞因子网络紊乱，强烈提示MIF是AD病理生理机制中免疫调节的关键蛋白。在此背景下，MIF可能成为理解该疾病临床病程的有用实验室参数。
