ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo detect the mRNA expression levels of RORγt and Foxp3 genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) of children with atopic dermatitis(AD),and to explore their possible roles in the development of AD.MethodsSixty-three children with AD and 54 age-matched normal children were eligible for this study.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR was carried out to measure the mRNA expressions of RORγt and Foxp3 genes in PBMCs of these subjects.ResultsThe relative expression levels of Foxp3 and RORγt mRNA were significantly higher in children with AD compared with the normal controls (2.4060 ± 0.3355 vs.1.1852 ± 0.4189,t =17.50,P＜ 0.01; 6.9130 ± 0.2046 vs.2.7501 ± 0.2518,t =98.63,P ＜ 0.01 ).A statistical increase was observed in the level of RORγt mRNA in children with severe AD compared with children with mild and moderate AD(7.1203 ± 0.1056 vs.6.8046 ± 0.1731 and 6.8655 ± 0.3671,t =6.61,5.23,both P ＜ 0.01).No significant difference was noted in the expression of RORγt mRNA between children with mild and moderate AD,or in the Foxp3 mRNA expression among children with mild,moderate and severe AD.The severity of AD was positively correlated with the level of RORγt mRNA (r =0.62,P ＜ 0.01 ),but uncorrelated with the level of Foxp3 mRNA(r =0.04,P ＞ 0.05).ConclusionsThe high expressions of RORγt and Foxp3 genes may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD,and the severity of AD is positively correlated with the expression intensity of RORγt gene.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the role of Toll like receptor 2 (TLR2) in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Methods Venous blood was collected from 30 normal human controls and 90 patients with acne vulgaris. The patients were equally divided into three groups, i.e., mild, moderate and severe groups, according to disease severity. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the expression of TLR2 in PBMCs, and double antibody sandwich ELISA to measure the levels of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Results A significant increase was observed in the expression of TLR2 in PBMCs, serum level of IL-8and TNF-α in the three groups of patients with acne vulgaris compared with the normal human controls (all P ＜0.01). The expression of TLR2 was positively correlated with the expression of IL-8 (r=0.382, 0.517,0.436,respectively, all P＜0.05) and TNF-α(r=0.641, 0.725, 0.593, respectively, all P＜0.05) in the patients with mild, moderate and severe acne vulgaris, respectively, and with the severity of acne vulgaris (r = 0.406,P＜0.01 ). Conclusion The expression level of TLR2 and related cytokines seems closely correlated with the severity of acne vulgaris.