ST2作为Th2细胞亚群标志以及其与支气管哮喘的关系的研究

各自主要分泌IFN γ和IL 4的Th1和Th2亚群 ,与临床疾病的关系十分密切。如何从表面标志上加以区分是一项迫切需要解决的问题。ST2是近年来提出的Th2细胞的稳定标志物。本工作在体外成功地诱导人脐带血T细胞向Th1或Th2分化的基础上 ,应用逆转录PCR分析了ST2mRNA的表达特点。证实ST2在人Th2细胞上的选择性表达。为了探索ST2、Th2与支气管哮喘的关系 ,本工作进一步检测了正常人和支气管哮喘患者外周血单个核细胞中 β actin、ST2以及IFN γ和IL 4的mRNA水平。结果显示 :支气管哮喘患者ST2mRNA水平升高 ,IL 4水平也明显升高 ,但IFN γ无变化。这提示ST2作为Th2细胞的标志物 ,有可能成为Th2极化性疾病如哮喘发病机制研究的一个参考性标志 ,至于ST2是否有可能作为治疗的靶分子 ,有待进一步探讨

A Study on ST2 as a Marker for Th2 Cells and Its Relation to Bronchial Asthma

To confirm whether ST2 could be used as a marker for Th2 cells,an in vitro suitable condition was established to drive resting human cord blood T cells to differentiate towards either Th1 or Th2 subsets by using IL 12 and IL 4 for stimulation respectively Following this procedure, cytokine secretion profiles of the recovered T subsets were intracellularly assayed at single cell level by flow cytometry In this way, Th1 and Th2 could be determined more precisely To explore the relationship among ST2,Th2 and asthma, experiments were further designed to use the RT PCR method to examine the expression levels of ST2,as well as of IFN γ and IL 4, with β actin as an internal reference The results showed that the level of ST2 mRNA was significantly increased, together with a higher synthesis of IL 4 mRNA in asthma patients, compared with those in normal control There was no different, however, for the expression of IFN γ between the two population These suggest that ST2 can be used as a marker for human Th2 cells, which could also be helpful to determine the immunological state of the patients and to provide a promising target for therapeutic intervention in the Th2 dominant diseases such as asthma