OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical relevance of serum interleukin-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: One hundred and seven SLE patients and 39 healthy controls with comparable age and gender were recruited at Peking University People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. Complete clinical data in 107 SLE patients at baseline and follow-up were collected. SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) was used to assess the disease activity of the SLE patients. The serum level of IL-2Rα in the SLE patients and healthy controls was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The association between serum IL-2Rα and clinical and laboratory parameters was investigated. Mann-Whitney U test or t test, Chi-square test and Spearman correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The serum IL-2Rα levels were significantly higher in the SLE patients [830.82 (104.2-8 940.48) ng/L], compared with those in the healthy controls [505.1 (78.65-1 711.52) ng/L] (P < 0.001). Association analysis showed that the increased serum IL-2Rα was positively associated with SLEDAI-2K scores and anti-nucleosome antibody (r=0.357, P < 0.001; r=0.25, P=0.027, respectively). Thirty-six of 107 (33.6%) SLE patients had lupus nephritis. Serum IL-2Rα levels were significantly higher in the patients accompanied with lupus nephritis [1 102.14 (126.52-8 940.48) ng/L] than in the patients without lupus nephritis [743.89 (104.19-4 872.06) ng/L] (P=0.032). The patients in the high IL-2Rα group had more lupus nephritis compared with those in the low IL-2Rα group (40.8% vs. 19.4%, P=0.031). Meanwhile, SLEDAI-2K scores were found significantly higher in the high IL-2Rα group than in the low IL-2Rα group [10 (3-21) vs. 7 (3-16), P=0.001]. With the improvement of disease activity in the SLE patients after conventional treatments, serum levels of IL-2Rα [1 119.1 (372.25-2 608.86) ng/L] in the week 12 decreased significantly compared with the baseline [1 556.73 (373.08-8 940.48) ng/L] (P=0.042). CONCLUSION Serum IL-2Rα may be used as a biomarker of disease activity in patients with SLE. There is certain correlation between serum IL-2Rα and renal involvement in SLE.
Biomarkers/blood* ; Case-Control Studies ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit/blood* ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/diagnosis*

OBJECTIVETo study changes to CD4(+)CD25(high+)CD127(low) regulatory T cells (Treg) in peripheral blood from children with bronchiolitis, and to explore its clinical significance.

METHODSThirty-one children with bronchiolitis and aged under two years were randomly enrolled as the bronchiolitis group, and 25 under two-year-olds with bronchopneumonia were randomly enrolled as the bronchopneumonia group. A further twenty-five children with non-infectious diseases such as hernia and renal calculus served as the control group. The level of CD4(+)CD25(high+)CD127(low) Treg in peripheral blood was measured by multi-color detection and multi-parameter flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe proportion of CD4(+)CD25(high+)CD127(low) Treg in peripheral blood in the bronchiolitis group (8.0%±2.1%) was significantly lower than in the bronchopneumonia (9.6%±2.6%; P<0.05) and control groups (11.3%±2.9%; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCD4(+)CD25(high+)CD127(low) Treg level in peripheral blood may be an index of immunological function in infants. A decreased level of CD4(+)CD25(high+)CD127(low) Treg in peripheral blood suggests that Treg cells may be involved in the pathogenesis and development of bronchiolitis.

Bronchiolitis ; immunology ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Infant ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Male ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical significance and detection of the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood in patients with hepatitis B.

METHODSThe expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells were measured by using flow cytometry in 53 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 53 carrier with hepatitis B virus and 26 healthy blood donors, and follow up 20 patients with HBV-DNA positive treated with interferon.

RESULTS(1) Compared with healthy controls, the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients and carrier with hepatitis B virus were lower (Q = 4.559, P < 0.05; Q = 6.230, P < 0.05). (2) The expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients with HBV-DNA positive (n = 77) was lower than that of negative (n = 29) (t = 2.290, P = 0.024). (3) Compared with the prior treatment,the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients with B hepatitis were lower after interferon treated with 12 weeks (t = 2.469, P = 0.024).

CONCLUSIONIt suggested that the CD25- CD127- expression on CD4+ T cells correlated with viral infections and cleared,exogenous interferon could decrease CD25- CD127- expression on CD4+ T cells.

Adult ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Hepatitis B ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Male

This study was aimed to explore the clinical significance of NK cell activity and serum soluble CD25 (sCD25) level in early diagnosis of the patients with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). 38 suspected secondary HLH patients from June 2005 to June 2008 and 25 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. The NK cell activity in peripheral blood was determined by a released LDH assay, The sCD25 level in serum was detected with ELISA double antibody sandwich assay. The 38 suspected secondary HLH patients were divided into diagnosed and excluded group according to HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria, The NK cell activity and sCD25 level were compared between the two groups. The results showed that 22 out of 38 suspected patients were diagnosed as secondary HLH, the NK cell activity in peripheral blood of these 22 patients was significantly lower than that of healthy control (p < 0.001), the sCD25 level in peripheral blood of these 22 diagnosed patients was higher than that of healthy control (p < 0.05). In conclusion, detection of NK cell activity and sCD25 level may be valuable in the early diagnosis of secondary HLH.
Case-Control Studies ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Killer Cells, Natural ; metabolism ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic ; blood ; diagnosis ; Serum

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain (sIL-2Rα, sCD25) in serum for the determination of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity. METHODS: Peripheral blood was collected from 108 patients with RA, 39 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and 50 healthy control subjects, and synovial fluids were from 40 patients with RA. The sera from the patients with RA, the disease control group (osteoarthritis), the healthy control group, and the synovial fluids of the RA patients were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters of the patients with RA were recorded and the correlation with the serum sCD25 level was analyzed. RESULTS: The serum sCD25 concentration in RA group was (2 886±1 333) ng/L, the serum sCD25 concentration in OA group was (2 090±718) ng/L, and the serum sCD25 concentration in healthy group was (1 768±753) ng/L. The serum sCD25 level in the patients with RA was significantly higher than that in the disease controls and healthy controls (P<0.001). Sensitivity of serum sCD25 in the diagnosis of RA was 66.1% and specificity was 83.0%;serum sCD25 levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r=0.321, P=0.001), C-reactive protein (r=0.446, P<0.001), DAS28 score (r=0.324, P<0.001), joint tenderness count (r=0.203, P=0.024), D-dimer levels (r=0.383, P<0.001), age (r=0.24, P=0.007), IgG (r=0.207, P=0.028), HRF-IgG (r=0.345, P=0.034) showed a significant positive correlation, and disease duration (r=-0.206, P=0.021) showed a negative correlation with sCD25;In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the positive rates of serum ESR, CRP, and sCD25 were 14.3% (2 cases), 14.3% (2 cases), and 71.4% (10 cases) in the low disease activity group. The positive rates of serum ESR, CRP and sCD25 in the moderate disease activity group were 94.2% (49 cases), 82.7% (43 cases), and 86.5% (45 cases). The positive rates of serum ESR, CRP, and sCD25 in the high disease activity group were 100% (42 cases), 95.2% (40 cases), and 90.5% (38 cases);36 cases of ESR and/or CRP were negative (about 33.3%) in 108 patients, serum sCD5 levels of 17 cases in these 36 cases (about 47.2%)increased, of which 14 cases (about 82.4%) had a DAS28 score higher than 3.2. CONCLUSION The serum sCD25 has a high specificity for diagnosis of RA and a poor sensitivity. The serum level is closely related to the activity of RA, indicating that sCD25 may be involved in the inflammatory process of RA and may become a new inflammatory marker of RA. It is more meaningful for detection of serum sCD25 when RA is active, but ESR and/or CRP is negative.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/pathology* ; Biomarkers/analysis* ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Case-Control Studies ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit/analysis* ; Osteoarthritis ; Synovial Fluid/chemistry*

OBJECTIVETo explore significance of serum soluble CD163(sCD163) and soluble CD25(sCD25) in diagnosis and guiding treatment of children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

METHODData of 42 cases of children with HLH, 32 cases of non-HLH children with infection presented to First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University pediatric clinic and ward were collected from December 2013 to December 2014. Twenty-four healthy children were enrolled into a normal control group in the same period.Peripheral venous blood specimens (3 ml) were taken from the children with HLH after fasting before treatment, two weeks after treatment and eight weeks after treatment.Peripheral venous blood specimens (3 ml) were also taken from children of non-HLH infected group and normal control group after fasting at the initial visit. Serum sCD163 and sCD25 levels in the peripheral blood in three groups were determined by ELISA. According to cause of disease, children with HLH were divided into infection-related HLH, tumor-related HLH, primary HLH and others; relationship between serum sCD163 and sCD25 level and cause of disease was analyzed.

RESULTSerum sCD163 of HLH group ((6 094 ± 2 769) µg/L) and serum sCD163 of non-HLH infection group ((2 174 ± 950) µg/L) were significantly higher than that of normal control group ((777 ± 256) µg/L), F=71.396, P<0.05), and the differences among groups were statistically significant (P<0.05); serum sCD25 of HLH group ((41 963 ± 31 821) ng/L) and serum sCD25 of non-HLH infection group ((6 700 ± 4 105) ng/L) were significantly higher than that of normal control group ((2 440 ± 1 870) ng/L, F=37.513, P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference between the non-HLH infection group with the normal control group (P>0.05), and the difference between the remaining groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). And serum sCD163 and sCD25 level of HLH group had a positive linear correlation, and Pearson correlation coefficient r=0.742 (t=7.000, P<0.05). The difference of serum sCD163 and sCD25 level among the different cause of disease in HLH group was significant (P<0.05).Pairwise comparison showed that serum sCD163 and sCD25 level of tumor-associated HLH group significantly increased as compared with infection-associated HLH group (P<0.05), but the difference was not statistically significant between the other groups (all P>0.05). Serum sCD163 and sCD25 level of HLH group before treatment, 2 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment showed a statistically significant tendency of decrease (P<0.05). Seen from the ROC curve, when sCD163 cut-off point was 2 359.08 µg/L, the diagnostic sensitivity was 83.3%, and specificity was 83.9%.When sCD25 cut-off point was 14 901.024 ng/L, the diagnosis sensitivity was 76.2%, and specificity was 98.2%.

CONCLUSIONSerum sCD163 and sCD25 levels may be used for diagnosis of HLH.Dynamically monitoring of serum sCD163 and sCD25 level can help to determine deterioration of HLH and guide treatment.

Antigens, CD ; blood ; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic ; blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic ; blood ; diagnosis ; therapy ; ROC Curve ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; blood ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo investigate the level of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells and observe relation between expression of Foxp3 and CD127 in peripheral blood of chronic HBV infection.

METHODSCD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg in peripheral blood from 34 patients of immune tolerance stage, 26 patients of immune clearance stage and 31 patients of non-active status were quantitatively analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTSImmune tolerance group presented a higher fraction of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg than non-active group in chronic HBV infection (Z = -2.693, P = 0.007 and t = 3.251, P = 0.002), and HBV positive group also presented a higher fraction than non-active group (t = 2.266, P = 0.026 and t = 3.208, P = 0.002), But ALT normal group is similar to ALT abnormal group (P > 0.05). In this study, the relation between expression of CD127low and Foxp3+ from CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells was observed, and CD4+ CD25+ CD127low Treg presented a higher fraction than CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg.

CONCLUSIONPeripheral Treg in HBV active replication group is higher than HBV negative group of chronic HBV infection. Expression of CD127low is consistent with Foxp3+ in CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells, but the former is significantly higher than the latter.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; blood ; genetics ; immunology ; Hepatitis B virus ; immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; genetics ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; immunology ; Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; genetics ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression levels and clinical significance of serum high mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1) in patients with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH).

METHODSSerum HMGB-1 levels were determined by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in 51 sHLH patients and 15 healthy contrlols. Other laboratory data, including soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sCD25), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet (Plt), fibrinogen (FIB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), triglyceride (TG), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum ferritin (SF), C reactive protein (CRP), and blood sedimentation rate (ESR) were also collected.

RESULTSSerum HMGB-1 levels in the newly diagnosed group were significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). Serum HMGB-1 levels in the newly diagnosed lymphoma-associated HLH (LHLH) group were significantly higher than that in non-HLH group, including infection-associated HLH (IHLH) and autoimmune-associated HLH (AHLH) group (P<0.05); The serum HMGB-1 levels in the clinical remission group were significantly lower than that in the newly diagnosed group (P<0.05), however, serum HMGB-1 was not decreased significantly in the progression/relapsed group, compared with the newly diagnosed group (P>0.05). Serum HMGB-1 levels in newly diagnosed sHLH patients positively correlated with sCD25 (r=0.62, P<0.01) and ESR (r=0.55, P<0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) for serum HMGB-1 levels of sHLH patients and healthy controls produced a cutoff value at 15.3 µg/L, with its 90% sensitivity and 99% specificity, respectively. In addition, an optimal cutoff value for HMGB-1 was 27.4 µg/L in the patients LHLH and non-HLH (AHLH+IHLH) with 96% sensitivity and 81% specificity, separately.

CONCLUSIONSerum HMGB-1 levels possesses an important clinically significance for disease diagnosis, differential diagnosis, evaluation of nosographic activity and treatment efficacy in the patients with sHLH.

C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fibrinogen ; analysis ; HMGB1 Protein ; blood ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; blood ; Leukocytes ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic ; blood ; Lymphoma ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25+ Tr) in the pathogenesis of recurrent spontaneous abortion.

METHODSPeripheral blood samples were collected from 29 women with unexplainable recurrent spontaneous abortion (the URSA group) and another 20 with normal pregnancy (the control group). The percentage of CD4+ CD25+ Tr in the peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe rate of CD4+ CD25bright Tr in the URSA patients ([1.98 +/- 0.96]%) was significantly lower than that in the control group ([3.21 +/- 1.25]%, P < 0.05), while the percentages of CD4+ CD25+ and CD4+ CD25dim and the ratio of CD4+ CD25bright/CD4+ were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONURSA might be associated with the decreased percentage of CD4+ CD25bright Tr, which plays an important role in fetomaternal immunologic tolerance.

Abortion, Habitual ; blood ; immunology ; Abortion, Spontaneous ; blood ; immunology ; Adult ; CD4 Antigens ; blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; blood ; Pregnancy ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology

Levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Ralpha) are known to increase in the sera of patients with certain malignancies, including malignant lymphoma. This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of the sIL-2Ralpha level in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We used ELISA to measure the sIL-2Ralpha levels in 48 newly diagnosed and untreated patients with NHL and evaluated the correlation between the sIL-2Ralpha levels and clinical characteristics and the International Prognostic Index (IPI). We monitored serum sIL-2Ralpha in 7 patients to compare the changes in their clinical progress with these levels. High levels of serum sIL-2Ralpha (> or =2,000 U/mL) correlated well with parameters defining the high risk group according to the IPI, i.e., high tumor burden at diagnosis (stage III+IV) and lactate dehydrogenase > or =472 U/L. The levels were also associated with B symptoms, bone marrow involvement, and poor response to therapy. The sIL-2Ralpha level decreased during complete remission and was elevated during disease progression or relapse. A high level of sIL-2Ralpha was significantly associated with a low survival rate. These results suggest that serum sIL-2Ralpha might be useful as a biomarker for evaluating the prognosis of patients with NHL at the time of diagnosis and during therapy. A well-controlled, large-scale study is needed to clarify the clinical significance of sIL-2Ralpha in specific groups of NHL.
Aged ; Biological Markers/blood ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit/*blood ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/blood ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/*diagnosis/metabolism/mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Survival Rate