Decreased interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-producing T cells in patients with acute Kawasaki disease.
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of early childhood, in which the activation of monocytes/macrophages plays a central role in the development of vasculitis during the acute stage of disease. In this study we investigated peripheral blood T cells of 10 patients with KD, focusing on the Th1 and Th2 imbalance, using intracellular cytokine staining and analysis of the cytokine-producing T cells by flow cytometry. We observed a decrease in the numbers of IFN-gamma-producing, but not IL-4-producing, CD3+ T cells, during the acute stage. Our results suggest that there is an imbalance of Th1 and Th2 subsets during the acute stage of KD.
Matsubara
T
T
Department of Paediatrics, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan. tmatsu@po.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
Katayama
K
K
Matsuoka
T
T
Fujiwara
M
M
Koga
M
M
Furukawa
S
S
D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D017252:CD3 Complex; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma