Expression And Significance Of Leukocyte Adhesion Molecules CD44 For Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Objective:To explore the role of CD44 in the immunologic mechanism of pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods:Human serum CD44 were measured by ELISA method in 45 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis before and after two months treatment,45 patients with non-active pulmonary tuberculosis and 45 healthy persons as control.Results:The levels of serum CD44 in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis were(4.781±0.832) ng/ml,significantly higher than those in the non-active pulmonary tuberculosis group[(0.519±0.612) ng/ml]and the healthy control group [(0.543±0.270) ng/ml](both P＜0.05).The difference in the levels of serum CD44 between the non-active pulmonary tuberculosis group and the healthy control group was not significant statistically(P＞0.05).Among the active pulmonary tuberculosis group,the levels of serum CD44 in the patients whose focus in several pulmonary lobes were(4.933±0.641) ng/ml,statistically higher than those in the patients whose focus just in single pulmonary lobe[(3.125±0.639) ng/ml](P＜0.05).The levels of serum CD44 in active pulmonary tuberculosis group after two months treatment were (2.539±0.974) ng/ml,statistically lower than two months before(P＜0.05),but still statistically higher than those in the non-active pulmonary tuberculosis group[(0.519±0.612) ng/ml]and the healthy control group[(0.543±0.27) ng/ml](both P＜0.05).Conclusion:The levels of serum CD44 in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis are significantly higher than those in the non-active pulmonary tuberculosis group and the healthy control,and in the patients whose focus in several pulmonary lobes were statistically higher than those in the patients whose focus just in single pulmonary lobe.After two months treatment,the levels decreased obviously,but still higher than those in the non-active pulmonary tuberculosis group and the healthy control.It suggests that CD44 maybe participate in the immunologic mechanism of pulmonary tuberculosis,and the concentration of CD44 may be significantly associated with the severity of pulmonary focus.So CD44 many be used as an ancillary clinical tool in assessing the activity,severity and therapeutic effect for pulmonary tuberculosis.