REGULATION
OF BCG-PSN ON TH1/TH2 CYTOKINE SECRETION FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR
CELLS IN ASTHMATIC CHILDREN
Capital Institute of
Pediatrics, Beijing, China
Zheng HY, Liu CH, Cai
LL, Chen YZ
Object: We report an in vitro Study of the regulation of BCG-PSN on Th1/Th2 cytokine
production from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in asthmatic
children, comparing with that of dexamethasone.
Methods: Twelve
asthmatic children were selected for study. PBMC were obtained and
incubated with PHA, PHA plus BCG-PSN and PHA plus dexamethasone
respectively for 48 hours, and IFN-r (Th1) and IL-4 (Th2) in the
supernatants were determined by ELISA.
Results: In comparison with PHA (623.4+691.8), BCG-PSN could increase
the production of IFN-r (777.6+802.8,p<0.01),
whereas dexamethasone reduced it (122.8+19.8, p<0.01). However, dexamethasone exhibited a
stronger inhibitory effect on the production of IL-4 (1.02+0.52, p<0.01), and BCG-PSN
showed no effect (34.7+21.9,
p>0.05)
in contrast to PHA (31.6+19.4). Either
BCG-PSN or dexamethasone increased the ratio of IFN-r/IL-4 as compared with
PHA (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively).
Conclusion: We proposed
that both BCG-PSN and dexamethasone can ameliorate the balance of Th1/Th2
to enhance the Th1 activity. So we believe that increasing of IFN-r/IL-4
maybe involved in the mechanisms of BCG-PSN in its treatment for asthma.