Expression of transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3 in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 60 patients with SLE and 20 normal control subjects were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal controls, T-bet mRNA expression decreased whereas GATA-3 mRNA expression increased significantly in patients with SLE, active SLE and inactive SLE.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The high expression of GATA-3 promotes the immature T cells to differentiate into Th2 cells, induces Th2 cells to secrete the cytokines IL-6 and IL-10, which, along with the low expression of Th1 as a result of T-bet expression inhibition, causes B cell activation to produce a large quantity of autoantibodies, leading finally to multiple organ injuries. Effective regulation of GATA-3 expression may provide a new clue for the treatment of SLE.</p>