Objective: To understand the change of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 balance in patients with secondary early syphilis. Methods: Peripheral blood Th and Tc cell subpopu-lations were examined by three-color flow cytometry in 30 ...Objective: To understand the change of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 balance in patients with secondary early syphilis. Methods: Peripheral blood Th and Tc cell subpopu-lations were examined by three-color flow cytometry in 30 patients with secondary early syphilis and 20 healthy subjects. Results: Percentages of CD3+ CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+CD8+ and NK cells in syphilitic patients were significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.001), but no statistical difference was found in percentages of CD8+ and CD19+ cells between the two groups (P > 0.05). The percentage of Th1 cells and ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 in syphilitic patients were clearly decreased as compared to those in controls (P<0.001-0.01), whereas percentages of Tc0 and Tc2 cells in syphilitics was higher than those in controls(P<0.001). Conclusion: There could be a disturbance of cellular immunity and the relatively intact function of humoral immunity in secondary syphilis. It is postulated that the polarization toward development of Th2 and Tc2 cells and their associated cytokines might be involved in the incomplete clearance of treponemes and the development of chronic infection.展开更多
基金This item is sponsored by Public Health Bureau of Guangdong Province
文摘Objective: To understand the change of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 balance in patients with secondary early syphilis. Methods: Peripheral blood Th and Tc cell subpopu-lations were examined by three-color flow cytometry in 30 patients with secondary early syphilis and 20 healthy subjects. Results: Percentages of CD3+ CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+CD8+ and NK cells in syphilitic patients were significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.001), but no statistical difference was found in percentages of CD8+ and CD19+ cells between the two groups (P > 0.05). The percentage of Th1 cells and ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 in syphilitic patients were clearly decreased as compared to those in controls (P<0.001-0.01), whereas percentages of Tc0 and Tc2 cells in syphilitics was higher than those in controls(P<0.001). Conclusion: There could be a disturbance of cellular immunity and the relatively intact function of humoral immunity in secondary syphilis. It is postulated that the polarization toward development of Th2 and Tc2 cells and their associated cytokines might be involved in the incomplete clearance of treponemes and the development of chronic infection.