Analysis Of The Correlation Between The Function Of T Ymphocytes And The Disease Activity In Patients With Heumatoid Arthritis

Objective: To detect the correlation between the function of T lymphocytesand the disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and explore therole of the function of T lymphocytes in the pathogenesis and progression ofRA．Methods: We selected61patients with rheumatoid arthritis， and28healthy volunteers （age47士12.8,M:F=7:21） from May2011to April2012．According to DAS28，RA patients were divided into two groups：44patients （age52士17.1,M:F=10:34） in active RA group and17patients(age49士14.4,M:F=10:34) in remission RA group, there is no significantdifference between the2groups when comparing age and gender． Plasmasamples, from the medial vein of the cubital fossa were collected in earlymorning. The level of IL-2, IFN-γ which were secreted by Th1cells, IL-4,IL-10which were secreted by Th2cells, IL-17secreted by Th17cells andTGF-β1secreted by Treg cells, were detected by enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA)．Results:1、 The expression of cytokines(CKs) in each group(1) In the active RA group, the plasma level of IL-2、 IFN-γ、 IL-4、IL-10、 IL-17and TGF-β1were significantly higher than those in healthcontrols (P＜0.05); (2) In the remission RA group, the plasma level of IL-2, IFN-γ、IL-4、IL-10、IL-17and TGF-β1were lower, but had no statistical differences withthe active RA group (P＞0.05);(3) In remission RA group, the plasma level IL-17and TGF-β1weresignificantly higher than those in health controls(P＜0.05); there was nostatistical difference in plasma level of IL-2、IL-4、IL-10and IFN-γ betweenthe remission RA group and health controls(P＞0.05).2、 The correlations between the CKs in each group(1) Active RA group： There was positive relationship when comparingbetween these4paired-sets of CKs; IL-2and IL-4（r=0.474, p=0.006）,IL-10and IFN-γ (r=0.723,p＜0.01）, IL-4and TGF-β1（r=0.410,p=0.018）,IL-10and TGF-β1（r=0.367,p=0.033）; there was no correlation between theother CKs（P＞0.05）.(2) Remission RA group： The plasma levels of IL-10was positivelyassociated with IFN-γ（r=0.969, p＜0.01）, there was no correlation betweenthe other CKs（P＞0.05）.3、 The ratio of Th1/Th2(1) The ratio of plasma IFN-γ/IL-10in active RA group is significantlylower than that in healthy controls(P＜0.05).(2) In active RA group, the ratio of IL-2/IL-4was not different fromhealthy controls (P＞0.05);Conclusions:1. In the active RA group, the expression of IL-2、IFN-γ、IL-4、IL-10、IL-17and TGF-β1were significantly higher than those in healthy controls(P＜0.05); it points out that they play important roles in the pathogenesis andprogression of RA. In the remission RA group, the above-mentioned CKswere lower than those in active RA group, meanwhile there was no significantdifference between remission RA group and healthy controls on IL-2、IFN-γ、IL-4、 IL-10; the result also indicates that these4CKs may be valuablebiomarkers of disease activity in RA.2. The imbalance in expression of Th1/Th2cytokines is relevantlyobvious in the active stage of RA, and the secretion patterns shift towardsTh2cells.3. TGF-β1which is produced by Treg cells, may promote the secretion of Th2-type cytokine in the active stage, and there is a close associationbetween TGF-β1and RA disease activity.