Expression of Inflammation Depending on the Stage of Cervical Cancer.

Background and Objectives: Cervical cancer (CC) remains a major public health problem, ranking as the fourth most common cause of cancer incidence and mortality in women globally. The development of CC is believed to be closely related to chronic inflammation. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the expression of systemic inflammation in patients with CC and to determine the threshold prognostic value of the systemic inflammation markers for CC and its advanced stage. Materials and Methods: 182 participants were recruited: 94 histology-proven patient with CC and 88 healthy women with NILM confirmed by liquid-based cytology test. The pre-treatment serum concentrations of cytokines, including IFN-ß, IFN-γ, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, LCN2, TREM-1, and TNF-α, were determined for all study patients. Results: The odds ratio (OR) of having IL-6 concentration >17.4 pg/mL in the CC group compared to control patients was 11.4 (95% CI: 4.897-26.684); that of having TREM-1 concentration >355.6 pg/mL was 5.9 (95% CI: 2.257-15.767); and that of having LCN2 concentration >23,721.5 pg/mL was 3.4 (95% CI: 1.455-8.166). The odds ratio (OR) of having IL-6 concentration >28.7 pg/mL in advanced-stage CC (III-IV stage) compared to early-stage CC (I-II stage) was 2.921 (95% CI: 1.06-8.045), and that of having LCN2 concentration >25,640.0 pg/mL was 4.815 (95% CI: 1.78-13.026). Conclusions: The pre-treatment serum inflammation markers IL-6, TREM-1, and LCN2 at specified levels could be used as predictors of cervical cancer, and IL-6 and LCN2 as predictors of an increased chance of advanced-stage (III-IV stages) cervical cancer. Patients with cervical cancer had expressed systemic inflammation, and expression of inflammation elevated the chance of having CC and advanced-stage disease.

Association between AHR Expression and Immune Dysregulation in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Insights from Comprehensive Immune Profiling of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.

Pancreatic cancer, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), has an immune suppressive environment that allows tumour cells to evade the immune system. The aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a transcription factor that can be activated by certain exo/endo ligands, including kynurenine (KYN) and other tryptophan metabolites. Once activated, AHR regulates the expression of various genes involved in immune responses and inflammation. Previous studies have shown that AHR activation in PDAC can have both pro-tumorigenic and anti-tumorigenic effects, depending on the context. It can promote tumour growth and immune evasion by suppressing anti-tumour immune responses or induce anti-tumour effects by enhancing immune cell function. In this study involving 30 PDAC patients and 30 healthy individuals, peripheral blood samples were analysed. PDAC patients were categorized into Low (12 patients) and High/Medium (18 patients) AHR groups based on gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The Low AHR group showed distinct immune characteristics, including increased levels of immune-suppressive proteins such as PDL1, as well as alterations in lymphocyte and monocyte subtypes. Functional assays demonstrated changes in phagocytosis, nitric oxide production, and the expression of cytokines IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10. These findings indicate that AHR's expression level has a crucial role in immune dysregulation in PDAC and could be a potential target for early diagnostics and personalised therapeutics.

Dysregulation of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Immune-Related Proteins during the Early Post-Operative Immune Response in Ovarian Cancer Patients.

Surgical treatment is a cornerstone of ovarian cancer (OC) therapy and exerts a substantial influence on the immune system. Immune responses also play a pivotal and intricate role in OC progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamics of immune-related protein expression and the activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in OC patients, both before surgery and during the early postoperative phase. The study cohort comprised 23 OC patients and 20 non-cancer controls. A comprehensive analysis of PBMCs revealed significant pre-operative downregulation in the mRNA expression of multiple immune-related proteins, including interleukins, PD-1, PD-L1, and HO-1. This was followed by further dysregulation during the first 5 post-operative days. Although most serum interleukin concentrations showed only minor changes, a distinct increase in IL-6 and HO-1 levels was observed post-operatively. Reduced metabolic and phagocytic activity and increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were observed on day 1 post-surgery. These findings suggest a shift towards immune tolerance during the early post-operative phase of OC, potentially creating a window for treatment. Further research into post-operative PBMC activity could lead to the development of new or improved treatment strategies for OC.

Risk Factors of Early Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Following Electrical Cardioversion When Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Is Preserved.

Background and objectives: To identify clinical, echocardiographic, and laboratory parameters that affect the early recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after restoring sinus rhythm (SR) by electrical cardioversion (ECV), and to determine whether left atrial (LA) strain, as a noninvasive indicator reflecting fibrosis, is associated with laboratory indicators affecting the development of fibrosis, interleukin 6 (IL-6) or tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Materials and Methods: The study included 92 persistent AF patients who underwent elective ECV. The effective maintenance of SR was evaluated after 40 ± 10 days of ECV. Echocardiography, inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), IL-6, and TNF-α), and natriuretic peptides (N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and N-terminal pro a-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP)) were assessed. Results: After a 40 ± 10 days observation period, 51 patients (55.4%) were in SR. Patients with AF recurrence had a significantly longer duration of AF (p = 0.008) and of arterial hypertension (p = 0.035), lower LA ejection fraction (p = 0.009), lower LA strain (p < 0.0001), higher left ventricular global longitudinal strain (p = 0.001), and a higher E/e' ratio (p < 0.0001). LA strain was an independent predictor of early AF recurrence (OR: 0.65; 95% Cl 0.5−0.9, p = 0.004). LA strain < 11.85% predicted AF recurrence with 70% sensitivity and 88% specificity (AUC 0.855, 95% CI 0.77−0.94, p < 0.0001). LA strain demonstrated the association with NT-proBNP (r = −0.489, p < 0.0001) and NT-proANP (r = −0.378, p = 0.002), as well as with hs-CRP (r = −0.243, p = 0.04). Conclusions: LA strain appeared to be the most accurate predictor of early AF recurrence after ECV in patients with persistent AF. LA strain inversely correlated with NT-proBNP and NT-proANP, but no significant association with any of the inflammatory markers was identified.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Sex-Related Differences, and a Possible Personalized Treatment Approach with Valproic Acid: A Review.

Sex differences identified in the COVID-19 pandemic are necessary to study. It is essential to investigate the efficacy of the drugs in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19, and to analyse the sex-related beneficial and adverse effects. The histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) is a potential drug that could be adapted to prevent the progression and complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. VPA has a history of research in the treatment of various viral infections. This article reviews the preclinical data, showing that the pharmacological impact of VPA may apply to COVID-19 pathogenetic mechanisms. VPA inhibits SARS-CoV-2 virus entry, suppresses the pro-inflammatory immune cell and cytokine response to infection, and reduces inflammatory tissue and organ damage by mechanisms that may appear to be sex-related. The antithrombotic, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, glucose- and testosterone-lowering in blood serum effects of VPA suggest that the drug could be promising for therapy of COVID-19. Sex-related differences in the efficacy of VPA treatment may be significant in developing a personalised treatment strategy for COVID-19.

Is analysis of inflammatory biomarkers and lymphocyte subpopulations useful in prediction of tuberculosis treatment outcomes?

Analysis of inflammatory biomarkers and lymphocytes during the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) could yield findings that influence the routine clinical practice and use of new anti-TB drugs. This study aimed to evaluate whether the selected biomarkers-soluble intercellular adhesion molecule type 1, soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), and C-reactive protein (CRP)-and T-cell subpopulations are useful for predicting culture conversion, treatment outcomes, and the extent of radiological lesions (calculated using X-ray score) in patients with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB. This study included 62 patients with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB. CRP and suPAR levels significantly decreased after 1 month of treatment. Before treatment initiation, CRP and suPAR levels were significantly higher in patients without culture conversion; however, none of the selected host biomarkers appeared to significantly influence the conversion status or treatment outcomes. Some lymphocyte subpopulations were correlated with X-ray scores before TB treatment initiation, but lung destruction, as determined using X-ray scores, showed the highest correlation with the baseline CRP value. We conclude that selected host biomarkers have a very limited role in predicting TB treatment outcomes and culture conversion and do not appear to be superior to CRP in monitoring TB treatment.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Healthcare Workers of Kaunas Hospitals during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background and objective: Serologic testing is a useful additional method for the diagnosis of COVID-19. It is also used for population-based seroepidemiological studies. The objective of the study was to determine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in healthcare workers of Kaunas hospitals and to compare two methods for specific SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Materials and Methods: A total of 432 healthcare workers in Kaunas hospitals were enrolled in this study. Each participant filled a questionnaire including questions about their demographics, contact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, acute respiratory symptoms, and whether they contacted their general practitioner, could not come to work, or had to be hospitalized. Capillary blood was used to test for SARS-CoV-2 specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) a lateral flow immunoassay. Serum samples were used to test for specific IgG and IgA class immunoglobulins using semiquantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: 24.77% of study participants had direct contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. A total of 64.81% of studied individuals had at least one symptom representing acute respiratory infection, compatible with COVID-19. Lateral flow immunoassay detected SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG class immunoglobulins in 1.16% of the tested group. Fever, cough, dyspnea, nausea, diarrhea, headache, conjunctivitis, muscle pain, and loss of smell and taste predominated in the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG-positive group. Using ELISA, specific IgG were detected in 1.32% of the tested samples. Diarrhea, loss of appetite, and loss of smell and taste sensations were the most predominant symptoms in anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG-positive group. The positive percent agreement of the two testing methods was 50%, and negative percent agreement was 99.66%. Conclusions: 1.16% of tested healthcare workers of Kaunas hospitals were anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG-positive. The negative percent agreement of the lateral flow immunoassay and ELISA exceeded 99%.

The Predictive Value of Tissue Doppler Indices for Early Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation After Electrical Cardioversion.

PURPOSE: Spectral tissue Doppler-derived E/e' ratio has been proposed as the best parameter for prediction of atrial fibrillation (AF). Relaxation and contraction are equivalent parts of a continuous cardiac cycle, where systolic and diastolic abnormalities have a variable contribution to the left ventricle (LV) failure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the E/(e'xs') ratio is a better index than E/e' to predict AF recurrence and to determine the changes of spectral tissue Doppler indices 1 month after the electrical cardioversion (ECV). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 77 persistent AF patients with restored sinus rhythm (SR) after ECV. Only patients with normal LV ejection fraction (EF) were included. Echocardiography and NT-proBNP laboratory findings were performed. A primary outcome was the early (within 1 month) recurrence of AF. RESULTS: After a 1 month follow-up period, 39 patients (50.6%) were in SR. E/e' (HR=1.74, P=0.001) and E/(e'×s') ratios (HR=8.17, P=0.01) were significant predictors of AF recurrence. E/(e'×s') in combination with LV end-diastolic diameter >49.3 mm and NT-proBNP >2000 ng/L demonstrated a higher contribution in the model to predict AF recurrence compared to the E/e' ratio (18.94, P=0.005 vs 1.95, P=0.001). On ROC analysis, E/(e'×s') and E/e' showed similar diagnostic accuracy (E/(e'×s'), AUC=0.71, P=0.002 and E/e', AUC=0.75, P<0.0001). Average e' value significantly decreased after 1 month in SR (from 10.76±1.24 to 8.96±1.47 cm/s, P=0.01), E wave did not change significantly and E/e' ratio tended to improve. A decrease of average e' and an increase of average s' values led to significant improvement of E/(e'xs') ratio. CONCLUSION: E/(e'xs') and E/e' ratios are comparable to predict early AF recurrence after ECV in patients with persistent AF. The e' value decreased significantly after 1 month follow-up period after ECV for persistent AF patients.

Circulating inflammatory markers in cervical cancer patients and healthy controls.

There is increasing evidence that host inflammatory responses play an important role in the development and progression of cancers. There are some data that cancer is associated not only with inflammation at the site of the lesion, but also with dysregulations of the host overall systemic immune response. In the case of cervical cancer, inflammation is an important factor associated with the development, progression, and potential metastasis of the disease. What is unclear still in the potential for modifications of host responses to human papillomaviruses (HPV) - a known causative agent of CC, that could be induced by cigarette smoking. In particular, it remains to be determined how the inflammation induced by HPV infection could impact on CC incidence/severity. In this prospective study, serum levels of 10 cytokines were evaluated using Multiplex and ELISA assays. The samples were the sera of 43 CC patients and 60 healthy (NILM) controls. All outcomes were evaluated in relation to host HPV and to their smoking status. The results in indicated that serum sTREM-1, TNFα, IFNß, IL-1ß, and IL-6 levels were significantly increased in CC (HPV+) patients compared to healthy NILM controls. A similar trend was observed for IL-10 and IL-2 levels. Within the two groups, differences in cytokine levels between smokers and never smokers were not remarkable. The findings here support the hypothesized role of systemic inflammation in the pathophysiology of CC.

Relationship of Natriuretic Peptides with Left Atrial Structure and Function within 1 Month after Electrical Cardioversion in Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) despite the absence of heart failure is related to increased levels of natriuretic peptides (NPs). NPs have not been widely investigated in relation to left atrium (LA) function after sinus rhythm (SR) restoration and duration of AF. The aim of the study was to determine the changes of NPs levels and to define their relation with LA phasic function after electrical cardioversion (ECV). Methods. The study included 48 persistent AF patients with restored SR after ECV. NT-proANP and NT-proBNP were measured for all patients before the ECV. LA phasic function (reservoir, conduit, and pump phases) was assessed using echocardiographic volumetric analysis within the first 24 hours after ECV. Patients were repeatedly tested after 1 month in case of SR maintenance. Results. After 1 month, SR was maintained in 26 (54%) patients. For those patients, NT-proBNP decreased significantly (p=0.0001), whereas NT-proANP tended to decrease (p=0.13). Following 1 month after SR restoration, LA indexed volume decreased (p=0.0001) and all phases of LA function improved (p=<0.01). Patients with AF duration < 3 months had lower NT-proANP compared to patients with AF duration from 6 to 12 months (p = 0.005). Higher NT-proANP concentration before ECV was associated with lower LA reservoir function during the first day after SR restoration (R=-0.456, p=0.005), whereas higher NT-proBNP concentration after 1 month in SR was significantly related to lower LA reservoir function (R=-0.429, p=0.047). Conclusions. LA indexed volume, all phases of LA function, and NT-proBNP levels improved significantly following 1 month of SR restoration. Preliminary results suggest that higher baseline NT-proANP levels and higher NT-proBNP for patients with maintained SR for 1 month are related to lower LA reservoir function. The longer duration of persistent AF is associated with higher NT-proANP concentration.

Effect of constant, predictable, and unpredictable motor tasks on motor performance and blood markers of stress.

An unfamiliar or novel physical stimulus induces activation of dopaminergic neurons within the brain and greater activity in areas involved in emotion; considering this, we aimed to establish whether unpredictable prolonged (fatiguing) motor task (vs. constant vs. predictable) evokes greater dopaminergic activity, enhances neuromuscular performance, motor accuracy, and perception of effort, and delays overall central fatigue. Fifteen healthy male volunteers (aged 22 ± 4 years) were required to perform 1 of 3 exercise trials (at least 1 week apart) of 100 intermittent isometric contraction (IIC) tasks involving knee extensions at 60° flexion. Trials were structured differently by simulated contraction intensity. A fatigue task involved 5-s contractions and 20-s rest. Variables measured before, during, and after IIC were electrically induced force, maximal voluntary contraction, central activation ratio, intramuscular temperature, and blood levels of dopamine, cortisol, and prolactin, and intraindividual motor variability and accuracy (constant and absolute error). We found that IIC increased central and peripheral fatigue, force sensation, and T mu, and decreased absolute and constant error without visual feedback, but did not affect motor variability. There were no significant differences between the three IIC tasks. However, only unpredictable tasks increased dopaminergic activity, which was insufficient to affect central motivation to perform isometric exercise and alter centrally mediated components of fatigue.

The effect of dichloroacetate on male rat thymus and on thymocyte cell cycle.

The study aim was to investigate the effect of dichloroacetate (DCA) on thymus and the thymocyte cycle in rats. Wistar male gonad-intact and castrated rats (4-5 weeks) were investigated in the following groups: (1) control; (2) treated with DCA; and (3) treated with the DCA and sodium valproate (NaVP) combination. Rats were treated for 4 weeks with DCA 200 mg/kg/day alone and 300 mg/kg/day of NaVP plus 200 mg/kg/day of DCA (every second week, beginning with NaVP). After the experiment, the thymus was weighted, and the thymus lobe was taken for thymocyte flow cytometry. In gonad-intact rats, the thymus weight of the control was higher than in rats treated with DCA (P <0.001) or with the NaVP-DCA combination (P <0.04); a comparison of thymus weight between DCA- and NaVP-DCA-treated groups revealed a higher thymus weight loss in the DCA-treated group (P <0.03). Flow cytometry shows that DCA treatment increased the percentage of cells in the G2-M phase (P <0.03) and reduced in G1-G0 (P <0.02). The DCA treatment effect was determined only in gonad-intact but not in castrated rats. The authors discuss the possible DCA and NaVP interaction mechanisms.

Similar cold stress induces sex-specific neuroendocrine and working memory responses.

BACKGROUND: Men have higher cold-induced neuroendocrine response than women; nevertheless, it is not known whether a different stress hormone rise elicits different effects on cognition during whole body cooling. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to compare the effect of cold-induced neuroendocrine responses on the performance of working memory sensitive tasks between men and women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cold stress continued until rectal temperature reached 35.5 degree C or for a maximum of 170 min. Working memory performance and stress hormone concentrations were monitored. RESULTS: During cold stress, body temperature variables dropped in all subjects (P < 0.001) and did not differ between sexes. Cold stress raised plasma epinephrine and serum cortisol levels only in men (P < 0.05). Cold stress adversely affected memory performance in men but not in women (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that similar moderate cold stress in men and women induces sex-specific neuroendocrine and working memory responses.

Distribution of γδ and other T-lymphocyte subsets in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

The role of T lymphocytes in pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory airway diseases - asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been emphasized in recent years: the importance of αß T-cells (CD8+ and CD4+) has been widely described. A substantial fraction of γδ T-cells is a composite part of pulmonary T lymphocytes. Specific localisation of γδ T-cells in epithelium/mucosa-rich tissues implies their potential role in local inflammatory immune response, which occurs in chronic inflammatory airway diseases. An investigation was made of the T-lymphocyte subsets in induced sputum (IS), in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and in peripheral blood from 20 patients with COPD (stages II-III; GOLD), 18 patients with asthma (persistent mild to moderate; GINA) and 14 healthy subjects. Relationship of γδ T-cells with lung function and smoking history was analysed. COPD patients had significantly higher numbers of CD8+T-cells in the airways of smokers compared to ex-smokers in the COPD group. A significant positive correlation was found between CD8+T-cells and pack-years of smoking. Differently, the COPD patients had significantly lower relative and absolute numbers of γδ T-cells in IS and in BAL compared to those from asthma or healthy subjects. The quantity of γδ T-cells negatively correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s and smoking (pack-years) only in COPD group. Our findings indicate a different local inflammatory response in COPD patients and in asthmatic groups. The reduced amount of γδ T-cells in IS and in BAL from COPD patients raises the hypothesis about their important role in pathogenesis of COPD.

Comparison of C-reactive protein levels in patients with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in serum of patients with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and evaluate the associations of CRP levels with clinicopathological characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 140 persons were included in the study: 43 patients with lung cancer, 34 patients with lung cancer and COPD, 42 patients with COPD, and 21 healthy subjects. CRP analysis was performed with a serum protein analyzer using commercially available high-sensitivity reagent kits. RESULTS: The C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher in the lung cancer patients with or without COPD compared with the COPD patients or the control group (20.42±1.95 and 22.49±2.31 vs. 8.37±0.91 and 2.49±0.47 mg/L, respectively; P<0.01). The patients with advanced lung cancer had higher CRP levels compared with the patients suffering from early stage lung cancer (23.11±1.72 vs. 14.59±2.23 mg/L, P<0.01). The CRP levels were significantly higher in the patients with early stage lung cancer compared with the COPD patients (14.59±2.23 mg/L vs. 8.37±0.91 mg/L, P<0.05). No association was found between CRP and histology, lung function, and smoking status in the patients with lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic inflammation plays an important role in both diseases: lung cancer and COPD. However, it seems that inflammation is more pronounced in patients with lung cancer, as the CRP levels were significantly higher in these patients than other groups.

[C-reactive protein levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma]. / C reaktyviojo baltymo koncentracija sergant letine obstrukcine plauciu liga ir bronchu astma.

UNLABELLED: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are defined as chronic inflammatory airway diseases. There is increasing evidence that systemic inflammation may be involved in their pathogenesis too. We aimed to investigate the C-reactive protein levels in plasma of patients with COPD, asthma and control subjects and to evaluate associations of C-reactive protein levels with pulmonary function and smoking history. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated 87 persons: 41 with COPD, 30 with asthma, and 16 controls. Clinical evaluation, pulmonary function tests, C-reactive protein concentration measurement, body mass index and smoking history evaluation were performed. RESULTS: We determined significantly higher C-reactive protein concentrations in COPD patients compared with asthma patients and controls (8.37+/-1.14 vs 3.14+/-0.67 and 2.39+/-0.59 mg/L, respectively; P<0.001). C-reactive protein concentrations in smokers and ex-smokers with COPD were significantly higher than in COPD non-smokers (8.38+/-1.52 and 10.4+/-2.22 vs 4.10+/-0.86 mg/L, respectively; P<0.05). In COPD patients, C-reactive protein level correlated with FEV(1) (R=-0.463, P=0.002), FEV(1)/FVC (R=-0.449, P=0.003), and pack-years (R=0.572, P=0.001). There was no correlation between C-reactive protein level and analyzed parameters in asthmatics and control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the hypothesis that systemic inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of COPD, and cigarette smoking might influence this inflammation.

[Autoimmunity in pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. / Autoimuninio mechanizmo reiksme letines obstrukcines plauciu ligos patogenezei.

For years, smoking induced inflammatory reaction, comprised mainly of neutrophils and macrophages, has been accepted to be the major component in pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. New developments in molecular and cell biology have provided scientists with new knowledge and understanding of inflammatory processes in lung. Recent reports have underlined the role of autoimmunity and T lymphocytes as a potential important factor, which takes place in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This article reviews potential mechanism of T cell mediated immune response in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

[Lymphocyte subsets in patients with recurrent upper airway infections]. / Limfocitu populiaciju pokyciai sergant pasikartojanciomis virsutiniu kvepavimo taku infekcinemis ligomis.

UNLABELLED: The aim of our study was to evaluate the digressions of lymphocyte subsets in patients with recurrent upper airway infectious diseases. METHODS: We studied 35 patients (mean of age 11.1+/-2.1 years) with recurrent upper airway infections. The first group consisted of patients, who had acute upper airway infections: rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis and tracheitis more than 6 times per last year, sinusitis or otitis more than 4 times per last year. The control group comprised of 9 healthy subjects. Subsets of lymphocytes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, CD16+/56+ and CD19+) were detected by FACS Calibur cytometer. RESULTS: We found a significantly lower count of CD4+ lymphocytes in the patients' group compared to the control group (37.5+/-1.2 vs 45.7+/-3.1% of total lymphocytes, p<0.01). We did not find any significant differences of other lymphocyte subsets between patients and control groups. CONCLUSION: We propose that patients with recurrent upper airway infections have alterations of the cellular immunity -- decreased amount of CD4+ lymphocytes.