Correlation between serum sPD-L2 levels and Th subpopulations in Brucella infection
- Author:
WANG Lingling
;
LIU Rong
;
LI Shuling
;
SONG Xue
;
WANG Xuhong
;
LI Zhiwei
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Brucella abortus;
sPD-L2;
Th1;
Th2
- From:
China Tropical Medicine
2023;23(12):1301-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the expression level of soluble Programmed cell death ligand2 (sPD-L2) in the peripheral blood of patients with Brucella infection and their correlation with helper T cells (Th) subsets. Methods Data from eighty-three patients with confirmed Brucella infection, including 37 patients with acute phase Brucella infection and 46 patients with chronic phase Brucella infection, collected from the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region between January 2019 and December 2021, were analyzed. Fifty healthy individuals undergoing regular medical check-ups during the same period were included as the Healthy Control (HC) group. Flow cytometry was used to detect the percentage of Th1 and Th2 cells as CD4+ T cells in the peripheral blood of the three groups of samples. Quantitative real-time fluorescence PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to measure the mRNA expression levels of Th1 and Th2 cell-associated transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3 in the peripheral blood of the three samples. The expression levels of cytokines sPD-L2, IFN-γ, and IL-4 in the serum of the three groups of samples were measured by the cytometric bead array (CBA) technique. Results Th1 cells in the acute phase brucellosis infection group (45.33±4.96)%, mRNA expression levels of T-bet (1.91±0.41), and IFN-γ expression levels (74.42±13.95) pg/mL were significantly higher in the acute phase Brucella disease group compared to the chronic phase group (21.78±4.42)%, (0.65±0.24), and (10.64±3.04) pg/mL, as well as the HC group (28.87±6.67)%, (1.12±0.25), and (7.48±2.92) pg/mL, respectively (P<0.05). Th2 cells (59.80±10.09)%, GATA-3 mRNA expression level (1.50±0.44), and IL-4 level (8.76±2.06) pg/mL were significantly higher in the chronic phase brucellosis infection group compared to the acute phase brucellosis patient group (40.61±9.32)%, (1.02±0.23), and (2.08±0.50) pg/mL, as well as the HC group (46.06±8.84)%, (1.18±0.28), and (2.70±0.75) pg/mL, respectively (P<0.05). Compared to the HC group (91.61±11.44) pg/mL, the sPD-L2 levels were significantly higher in the acute phase brucellosis patient group (156.77±24.69) pg/mL and slightly higher in the chronic phase brucellosis patient group (110.99±29.44) pg/mL, with a statistically significant difference between the acute and chronic phase brucellosis patient groups (P<0.05). Correlation analysis of the brucellosis patient group showed that sPD-L2 levels were positively correlated with the percentage of Th1 cells (r=0.540, P<0.01) and the levels of IFN-γ (r=0.692, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with the percentage of Th2 cells (r=-0.565, P<0.01) and the levels of IL-4 (r=-0.528, P<0.01). Conclusions In patients with acute brucellosis, sPD-L2 levels are significantly increased, which may resist brucellosis by promoting Th1 cells to secrete more pro-inflammatory factors to defend against Brucella infection. In chronic Brucella disease patients, the tilting of immune response types from Th1 to Th2 may be due to a decrease in sPD-L2 expression, which reduces the inhibitory effect of Th2, leading to incomplete clearance of Brucella and thus immune escape. Brucella may affect the conversion of Th1 to Th2 through the sPD-L2 pathway, exerting negative regulatory effects and resulting in difficulty in complete Brucella clearance, thus turning into a chronic phase.
- Full text:202412231710108808711.Correlation between serum sPD-L2 levels and Th subpopulations in Brucella infection.pdf
