Th1-Type Cytokines Expression in the Peripheral Mononuclear Cells of the Patients with Systemic lupus Erythematosus

Objective To investigate the mRNA expression of Th1 type cytokines in SLE patients. Methods Applying RT-PCR technique to semiquantitatively analyse the IL-2 mRNA expression in PBMCs from 41 SLE patients and IFN-γ mRNA expression in PBMCs from 31 SLE patients. Results Compared with normal controls,the SLE patients with decreased expression of IL-2 accounted for 78.0% of the SLE patients in active stage,and those with decreased expression of IFN-γ accounted for 83.9%,the mean levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ expression in SLE group were significantly decreased as well (P<0.01,both). Conclusion The Th1 type cytokine expression of SLE patients in active stage is down regulated,which may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE. Key words: Lupus erythematosus,systemic; Interleukin-2; Interferon typeⅡ; RNA,messenger; Polymerase chain reaction