title: Serum level of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and the expression of TGF-beta receptor type II in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association of the immunosuppressive effects of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) with abnormalities in immune regulation in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), we investigated the serum level of TGF-beta1 and expression of TGF-beta receptor type II (TbetaRII) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in patients with AIH.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two patients with AIH were included in this study. Serum levels of total TGF-beta1 were determined using a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression levels of TbetaRII mRNA were semi-quantitatively determined by ribonuclease (RNase) protection assay specific for TbetaRII.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean serum level of TGF-beta1 in patients with AIH (230+/-95 ng/mL) was higher than that of healthy controls (137+/-81 ng/mL, p=0.012). The expression level of TbetaRII mRNA in PBMC obtained from AIH patients (0.131+/-0.046) was lower than that in PBMC of patients with chronic hepatitis C (0.186+/-0.074, p=0.019) and that of healthy subjects (0.188+/-0.060, p=0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study of TbetaRII mRNA expression in PBMC from patients with AIH suggested that the decreased expression of TbetaRII might contribute partially to abnormalities in immune regulation observed in patients with AIH, despite concomitant up-regulation of TGF-beta1 production.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan. sakaguti@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kohsaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: Motoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitano
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Senoh
authors.forename: Takeyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shinji
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000097:blood*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1