Cytokine gene expression in atopic dermatits

到目前为止，一些研究结果表明，特应性皮炎(AD)患者中以2型辅助T细胞(Th2)为主。另一方面，最近通过逆转录聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)证实了干扰素-γ(干扰素-γ)信使RNA(MRNA)在AD皮损中的优势表达。为了解决这个有争议的问题，我们用原位杂交(ISH)和免疫组织化学方法研究了5例AD患者皮损中IL-4和干扰素-γ的转录和翻译。在mRNA和蛋白水平观察到IL-4和干扰素-γ的共同表达。干扰素-γmRNA阳性细胞数(14.0±6.7)显著高于IL-4mRNA阳性细胞数(2.4±1.1)(p=0.04)。干扰素-γ(6.3；+-gt；2.8)的阳性染色细胞数也明显高于IL-4(1.8-1.2)(p=0.04)。IL-4mRNA阳性细胞数与AD病情严重程度呈正相关(r=0.76，p=0.13)，提示IL-4在AD发病机制中起重要作用。

To date, a number of findings suggesting a predominance of type 2 helper T cell (Th2) have been reported in atopic dermatitis (AD). On the other hand, a predominance of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was recently demonstrated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the lesions of AD.To address the controversial issue, we investigated both transcription and translation of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IFN-gamma in the lesions of five AD patients by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunostaining. In mRNA and protein level, coexpression of IL-4 and IFN-gamma was observed. The number of IFN-gamma mRNA-positive cells (14.0<plus-minus>6.7) was significantly higher than that of IL-4 mRNA-positive cells (2.4<plus-minus>1.1) (p=0.04). The number of positive staining cells of IFN-gamma (6.3<plus-minus>2.8) were also significantly higher than that of IL-4 (1.8<plus-minus>1.2) (p=0.04). However, the number of IL-4 mRNA-positive cells tended to correlate with the AD severity (r=0.76, p=0.13), suggesting an important role of IL-4 in the pathogenesi