title: Study on the T-helper cell 1/2 cytokine profile in blister fluid of patients with herpes zoster and its clinical significance.
abstract: Herpes zoster (HZ) is a Varicella zoster virus infection disease. Previous studies have presumed the connection between development of HZ and involvement of cellular immunity in peripheral blood. However, whether cellular immunity plays a role in the local skin lesion has not been addressed. To explore the levels of T-helper cell (Th)1/Th2 type cytokine profiles in the blister fluid of the skin lesions from the patients with HZ and its role in pathogenesis, we used the cytometric bead array kit to compare the levels of cytokines (interleukin [IL]-2, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, IL-10 and IL-4) in blister fluid from 46 patients with those from the suction blister fluids from 20 volunteers without any infectious disease (the control group). The results indicated that the levels of Th1 cytokines, IL-2 and TNF-α in the blister fluid from the patients' skin lesions were significantly lower than those from the control group, whereas the levels of Th2 cytokines IL-10 and IL-4 were significantly higher than those in the control group. Moreover, significant variation of the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-2, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-4) in the blister fluid from the HZ patients' lesions was also observed among different stages of the disease. It is concluded that a cytokine imbalance was present in the local lesions of patients with HZ during disease development. Our data suggested that the Th immunity was associated with disease activity, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HZ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of the School of Medicine Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710068, China. meifang322@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Meifang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shiyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Xueliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yili
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001768:Blister / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; C508609:IL10 protein, human; C508594:IL2 protein, human; C508598:IL4 protein, human; D007376:Interleukin-2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D015847:Interleukin-4