Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of serum regulatory T cell(Treg cell)-related factors in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DPN)and their relationships with pain mediators.Methods A total of 140 patients with DPN were enrolled and divided into painful DPN group(36 patients)and painless DPN group(104 patients)based on the presence of neuropathic pain.The serum levels of Treg cell-related factors[interleukin-10(IL-10),transforming growth fac-tor-β1(TGF-β1),interleukin-35(IL-35)]and pain mediators[prostaglandin E2(PGE2),hista-mine(His),and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)]between the two groups were compared.Pearson cor-relation analysis was used to explore the correlations of the serum levels of IL-10,TGF-β1,and IL-35 with the levels of PGE2,His,and 5-HT in patients with DPN.Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the influencing factors of pain intensity in patients with DPN.Results The serum levels of TGF-β1,PGE2,His,and 5-HT were higher,while the levels of IL-10 and IL-35 were lower in the painful DPN group than those in the painless DPN group(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation a-nalysis showed that IL-10 was negatively correlated with PGE2,His,and 5-HT(r=-0.781,-0.794,-0.714,P＜0.05);TGF-β1 was positively correlated with PGE2,His,and 5-HT(r=0.605,0.590,0.515,P＜0.05);IL-35 was negatively correlated with PGE2,His,and 5-HT(r=-0.727,-0.847,-0.727,P＜0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that IL-10,TGF-β1,and IL-35 were closely related to the pain intensity in patients with DPN and were influencing factors of painin-tensity(P＜0.05).Conclusion The serum levels of IL-10 and IL-35 in patients with DPN are negatively correlated with the levels of PGE2,His,and 5-HT,while the level of TGF-β1 is positive-ly correlated with these pain mediators.Furthermore,IL-10,TGF-β1,and IL-35 are closely related to the degree of neuropathic pain in patients with DPN.

Objective:To investigate the levels of chemokine 2 (CCL2), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), chemokine (C-X3-C motif) ligand 1 (CX3CL1), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10) in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with acute and chronic herpes zoster (HZ), and their correlation with the severity of neuropathic pain.Methods:A total of 60 patients with acute herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from November 2022 to November 2023 were selected for a case-control study. These patients were divided into a HZ group ( n = 25) and a PHN group ( n = 35). The pressure pain threshold in the affected area was measured on the day of admission for all patients. The Visual Analogue Scale scores were evaluated in both groups. After lumbar puncture, 2 mL of cerebrospinal fluid was collected, and the levels of related chemokines in the cerebrospinal fluid were detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results:In the HZ group, the levels of chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL10 were (24.84 ± 6.97) ng/L and (107.46 ± 28.29) μg/L, respectively, while in the PHN group, they were (20.51 ± 3.16) ng/L and (132.98 ± 30.92) μg/L. The differences in the levels of chemokines CXCL1 and CXCL10 between the two groups were statistically significant ( t = 2.91, -3.26, both P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the levels of chemokines CCL2 and CX3CL1 between the two groups ( t = 1.62, -0.23, both P > 0.05). The levels of CCL2, CXCL1, CX3CL1, and CXCL10 in both groups were negatively correlated with the pressure pain threshold (HZ group: r = -0.84, -0.78, -0.93, -0.86; PHN group: r = -0.71, -0.78, -0.94, -0.76, all P < 0.01). Conclusion:Higher levels of chemokines in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with acute and chronic HZ are associated with more pronounced neuropathic pain. The neuro-immune inflammation involving chemokines may be correlated with the severity of neuropathic pain in acute and chronic HZ.