Authors: J. KIMURA¹; H. TAKADA; A. NOMURA¹; T. OHNO¹; Y. MIZUNO²; M. SAITO¹; K. KUSUHARA¹; T. HARA¹

Source: Clinical & Experimental Immunology, Volume 137, Number 2, August 2004 , pp. 444-449(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

SUMMARY

To clarify the functional state of T cells in Kawasaki disease, we analysed mRNA expression levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines (IFN- and IL-4) along with Th1/Th2-inducing transcription factors, T-bet and GATA-3, which play pivotal roles in the development of Th1 and Th2 cells, respectively. By real-time PCR, IFN- mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were significantly decreased in Kawasaki disease patients compared with those with measles, and tended to be lower than those in healthy controls. T-bet mRNA levels were significantly decreased in patients with Kawasaki disease compared with healthy controls. In addition, IL-4 and GATA-3 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in Kawasaki disease compared with healthy controls. Regulatory cytokine mRNA levels (TGF- and IL-10) were also decreased in Kawasaki disease. The mRNA levels of IFN- showed a significant positive correlation with those of T-bet in Kawasaki disease. These results suggest that the suppressed function of Th1 and Th2, associated with the suppression of both T-bet and GATA-3 gene expression, may be one of the immunological characteristics of Kawasaki disease.

Keywords: Kawasaki disease; T-bet; GATA-3; IFN-; IL-4

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2249.2004.02506.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Paediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University and 2: Fukuoka Children's Hospital and Medical Centre for Infectious Diseases, Fukuoka, Japan

Publication date: 2004-08-01

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