哮喘患儿外周血RORC和Foxp3 mRNA表达水平的变化及其意义

Expression and Significance of RORC and Foxp3 mRNA in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells(PBMC) in Children with Bronchial Asthma

【目的】研究淋巴细胞亚群Th17与Treg上游调控基因维甲酸相关孤儿核受体(RORC)、叉状头转录因子P3(Foxp3)mRNA在支气管哮喘患儿外周血单个核细胞中的表达变化,并探讨其临床意义。【方法】采用荧光实时定量PCR技术分别检测20例哮喘发作期(年龄8.5±2.3)和20例哮喘缓解期(年龄9.2±1.8)外周血单个核细胞的RORC和Foxp3mRNA表达水平,并与10例健康对照组(年龄8.0±1.6)进行比较。并将哮喘患儿RORC和Foxp3 mRNA表达水平与其同期肺功能第一秒用力呼气容积(FEV1)进行相关分析。【结果】哮喘发作组RORC mRNA水平显著高于缓解组和正常对照组(5.41±0.12 vs 3.33±0.27 vs 3.78±0.13,P<0.01);哮喘发作组Foxp3 mRNA水平显著低于缓解组和正常对照组(3.34±0.12 vs 4.43±0.07 vs 4.13±0.04,P<0.01);缓解组和正常对照组相比,RORC和Foxp3 mRNA水平均无明显差异(P>0.05)。哮喘发作组RORC mRNA/Foxp3 mRNA比值明显高于缓解组和正常对照组(1.68±0.09 vs 0.76±0.06 vs 0.92±0.04,P<0.01)。Pearson相关分析显示,哮喘患儿外周血RORC mRNA水平与FEV1成负相关,而Foxp3 mRNA水平与FEV1成正相关(r分别为-0.58和0.52,P<0.01)。【结论】RORC mRNA/Foxp3 mRNA在发作期哮喘患儿存在失衡表达,提示Th17/Treg失衡可能在哮喘的急性发作及肺功能损伤中起着重要作用。

【Objective】 To investigate the mRNA expression and significance of RORC（the transcription factor of Th17 cells） and Foxp3（the transcription factor of Treg cells） in PBMC in children with bronchial asthma.【Methods】 To detect the mRNA expressions of RORC and Foxp3 in PBMC by quantitative real-time PCR in 40 asthmatic children,including 20 children of acute attack group（age 8.5 ± 2.3）,20 children of remission group（age 9.2 ± 1.8） and 10 children of healthy control（age 8.0 ± 1.6）.To analyze the relationship between the RORC and Foxp3 mRNA expressions and the FEV1 of pulmonary function in asthmatic children.【Results】 It was showed that RORC mRNA expressions in asthmatic children was higher in attack stage than in remission stage and in control group（5.41 ± 0.12 vs 3.33 ± 0.27 vs 3.78 ± 0.13,P 0.01）.In contrast,Foxp3 mRNA in asthmatic children was lower in attack stage than in remission stage and in control group（3.34 ± 0.12 vs 4.43 ± 0.07 vs 4.13 ± 0.04,P 0.01）.However,there was no significant difference in the expression of both RORC and Foxp3 mRNA between asthmatic children in remission stage and healthy group（P 0.05）.The ratio of RORC/Foxp3 mRNA in PBMCs of asthmatic children in attack stage was significantly higher than those in remission stage and healthy controls（1.68 ± 0.09 vs 0.76 ± 0.06 vs 0.92 ± 0.04,P 0.01）.Pearson correlation analysis revealed that RORC mRNA was negatively correlated with FEV1,but Foxp3 mRNA was positively correlated with FEV1（r =-0.58 and 0.52,P 0.01）.【Conclusions】 The imbalance of RORC/Foxp3 mRNA expression exists in asthmatic children,suggesting a potential role for Th17/Treg imbalance in the pathogenesis and reduction of lung function in asthmatic children.