Research on CD4~+ CD25~+ regulatory T cells and related cytokines in peripheral blood of children with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Objective To investigate the number of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and the level of related cytokines in peripheral blood of the children with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(AITP),and analyze the relationship between CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and the immunopathogenesis of AITP.Methods CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood from acute ITP children and healthy children were detected by flow cytometry.The related cytokines in peripheral blood,i.e.IL-10 and TGF-β1,were simultaneously assayed by ELISA.The correlation between CD4+CD25+ regulation T cells and the cytokines was analyzed.Results CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells decreased obviously in peripheral blood of acute ITP children compared with control group[(2.83±1.05)%vs(5.07±0.59)%,P0.05].The level of IL-10 and TGF-β1 also decreased in AITP group compared with control group[IL-10:(29.48±13.69)vs(43.10±14.95)pg/ml and TGF-β1:(170.04±91.58)vs(254.75±130.41)pg/ml respectively,P0.05].There were positive correlations between CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and the levels of IL-10 and TGF-β in acute ITP children(r1=0.54,r2=0.66,P0.05).Conclusions The decrease of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and related cytokines IL-10 and TGF-β in peripheral blood of acute ITP children may relate to disturbance of cellular immunity in acute ITP.