Effects Of Azithromycin On The Helper T Lymphocyte Cell In Peripheral Blood Of Asthmatic Children

Objective To observe the effects of azithromycin on the helper T lymphocyte cell(Th)1/Th2 in peripheral blood of asthmatic children.Methods Twenty-four asthmatic children and twenty healthy children were included.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) were isolated from venous blood and made into cells suspension in aseptic condition.0.2mg/L,0.1 mg/L,0.05 mg/L and 0mg/L azithromycin were added into the cultures in asthmatic group.The blank,that is 0mg/L group,was not interfered with azithromycin.The supernatant of both asthmatic and healthy group was collected after culturing in vitro for forty-eight hours.The levels of interferon(IFN)- T,interleukin(IL)-4 and interleukin(IL)-10 in the supematant were determined by enzyme-linked immunosobent assay.Results①The level of IL-4 produced from the PBMC of asthmatic children was significantly higher than that of the healthy group(P＜0.05),but the ratio of IFN-γand IL-4 of the former was obviously lower than the later(P＜0.05).There was no significance of the level of IFN-γor IL-10 between the two groups(P_a＞0.05).②0.1mg/L azithromycin more promoted the secretion of IL-4 than the other three drug concentrations(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).And there were no significance of the level of IFN-γor the ratio of IFN-γand IL-4 between any other two concentrations(P_a＞0.05).③0.2mg/L and 0.1mg/L azithromycin more increased the level of IL-10 than the blank(P＜0.01,＜0.05,respectively).And the level of IL-10 of 0.2mg/L group was markedly higher than that of 0.05mg/L group(P＜0.05).There were no significance between any other two concentrations(P_a＞0.05).Conclusions①The imbalance of Th1/Th2 existed in asthmatic children.The function of Th2 cytokines were relatively dominant.The routine drug level(0.1mg/L) of azithromycin could advance the level of IL-4,but had no effect on IFN-γor the ratio of IFN-γand IL-4.②The routine drug level(0.1mg/L) of azithromycin could modulate the immunological function by up-regulating the level of IL-10.