Effect of immunotherapy on T lymphocyte subsets, FOXP3 and IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio in children with allergic asthma

摘要

Purpose: To study the effect of specific immunotherapy on T lymphocyte subsets, FOXP3 and IFN-gamma/IL-4 in children with allergic asthma (AA). Methods 57 AA children were selected and received the allergen specific immunotherapy, thereafter, the T lymphocyte subsets, FOXP3 and IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio were measured at three time points, before treatment, after 1yr and 2yr of treatment. Then the clinical efficacy after 2yr was recorded. Results The pre- and post- treatment percentages of CD4 (+) CD25 (+) T cells in CD4 (+) T cells had no difference (P>0.05). The proportion of CD4 (+) CD25 (high) T cells in CD4 (+) T was significantly increased after 1yr and 2yr of treatment (P<0.05), the difference between that after 1yr and 2yr of treatment was not significant. The relative expression of FOXP3 at three time points in a descending order was after 1yr, 2yr of treatment and pre-treatment (P<0.05). The relative IFN-gamma expression after 1yr of treatment increased and returned to pre-treatment level after 2yr of treatment; IL-4 expression levels decreased as the treatment time extended; The IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio at three time points in a descending order was after 1yr, 2yr of treatment and pretreatment (P<0.05). The levels of IL-4 and IFN-gamma in the children increased significantly as treatment time extended (P<0.05), and became stable after 1yr and 2yr of treatment, while the concentration of IL-4 showed a decrease trend (P<0.05), also tended to be stable after 1yr and 2yr of treatment. The clinical efficacy after 2yr of treatment was 87.72. Conclusion This study has revealed that FOXP3, IFN-gamma, and IL-4 have significant roles FOXP3 in the process of specific immunotherapy for children with allergic asthma. Further studies are needed to explore the mechanism.