1. Up-regulation of interleukin-4 and CD23/FcepsilonRII in minimal change nephrotic syndrome.
- Author
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Cho BS, Yoon SR, Jang JY, Pyun KH, and Lee CE
- Subjects
- Adrenal Cortex Hormones therapeutic use, Antibodies, Blocking pharmacology, B-Lymphocytes drug effects, B-Lymphocytes metabolism, Blotting, Northern, Cells, Cultured, Child, Child, Preschool, Culture Media, Conditioned metabolism, Culture Media, Conditioned pharmacology, Female, Flow Cytometry, Humans, Interleukin-4 antagonists & inhibitors, Interleukin-4 immunology, Lymphocytes drug effects, Lymphocytes metabolism, Male, Mitogens pharmacology, Nephrosis, Lipoid drug therapy, Palatine Tonsil cytology, Palatine Tonsil immunology, RNA, Messenger biosynthesis, Receptors, IgE biosynthesis, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Up-Regulation, Interleukin-4 metabolism, Nephrosis, Lipoid metabolism, Receptors, IgE metabolism
- Abstract
Although the pathogenesis of childhood minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) has not been clearly defined, the current hypothesis favors an involvement of T cell dysfunction. The symptom onset and the relapse of MCNS are frequently associated with allergy and increased IgE levels in sera. Since a T cell-derived cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) plays a key role in the regulation of IgE production and allergic response, we investigated the role of IL-4 in the pathophysiology of MCNS. Using fluorescence-activated cell scanning we observed a significantly higher expression of CD23, the type II IgE receptor (FcepsilonRII), on fresh B cells from active MCNS patients (n=22) compared with age-matched healthy normal controls (n=12). The upregulation of CD23 correlates with greater IL-4 activity in the culture supernatant of MCNS peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) than normal PBLs stimulated by mitogens, as assessed by the CD23-inducing effect of the PBL supernatant on tonsillar B cells. Furthermore, Northern blot and reverse transcription-based polymerase chain reaction analysis have revealed significantly elevated levels of IL-4 mRNAs both in mitogen-stimulated and unstimulated MCNS PBLs, compared with healthy normals or disease controls with other renal disorders. Together these results strongly suggest that the upregulation of IL-4 in T cells may be part of the T cell dysfunction involved in MCNS.
- Published
- 1999
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