OBJECTIVETo investigate the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines in peripheral blood of patients with primary immune thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP) before and after treatment and their clinical significance.

METHODSNinety-eight cases of ITP were treated with glucocorticoid(GC), then were divided into 2 groups: effectively treated group and uneffectively treated group according to efficacy of treatment, 40 healthy persons confirmed by health examination were selected and enrolled in control group. The levels of Th1 cytokines(IFN-γ,TNFα,IL-2) and Th2 cytokines(IL-4,IL-5,IL-10) were detected by cytometric bead array before and at 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months after treatment and the relationship among detected indexes was analyzed.

RESULTSBefore treatment with glucocorticoid, the levels of Th1 type cytokines were in 98 patients with ITP were higher and the levels of Th2 type cytokines were lower, compared with the healthy controls(P<0.05). The IL-2/IL-4 ratio was significantly higher than that of healthy controls(P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of Th1 type cytokines in effectively treated group were significantly decreased and the levels of Th2 type cytokines were significantly increased, compared with level before treatment(P<0.05). The IL-2/IL-4 ratio was significantly decreased after treatment for 6 months, compared with that before treatment(1.05±0.43 vs 2.53±0.72)(P<0.05), but the level of Th1 or Th2 type cytokines did not obviously changed.

CONCLUSIONPeripheral blood Th1 and Th2 cells express abnormally in ITP patients, ITP is a Th1 dominated disease; the change of IL-2/IL-4 ratio before and after treatment correlated with the prognosis of ITP patients, displaying clinical significance for ITP individual therapy.