[Study of Th1/Th2 balance in peripheral blood of chronic gastritis patients with Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome].
OBJECTIVE
To study the correlation between the Th1/Th2 balance in the peripheral blood and Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome (PDS) in chronic gastritis (CG).


METHODS
Fifty-one patients with CG of PDS were recruited, including 22 cases with predominant damp (PDS-D), 9 case with predominant heat (PDS-H), and 20 case with simultaneous onset of damp and Heat (PDS-DH). Besides, 10 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy control group. H. pylori (HP) infection was detected by fast urea enzyme, and the expressions of Th1 type cytokines interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-12 (IL-12), and Th2 type cytokines interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10) in serum were detected by luminex technology.


RESULTS
The HP infection rate was 41.18% (21/51) in the PDS patients, obviously higher than that in the healthy control group (10.00%,1/10), showing statistical difference (P<0.05). The HP infection rate was 45.45% (10/22) in PDS-D, 22.22% (2/9) in PDS-H, and 45.00% (9/20) in PDS-DH. The HP infection rate in PDS-D and PDS-DH was significantly higher than that of the healthy control group, showing statistical difference (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the expressions of peripheral blood IFN-gamma, IL-12, IL-4, and IL-10 between the PDS patient group and the healthy control group (P>0.05). But the expressions of IFN-gamma and IL-12 showed an increasing trend in the PDS patient group, while the expression of IL-4 showed a decreasing trend. The expressions of IFN-gamma, IL-12, IL-4, and the ratios of IFN-gamma/IL-4 and IL-12/IL-4 were also higher in PDS-DH group than in the PDS-D group and the PDS-H group, but with no statistical significance (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The occurrence of Pi-Wei damp-heat CG was possibly correlated with the imbalance of Th1/Th2. Damp and heat pathogen might be important pathogenic factors leading to Th1 type cytokine immunoreaction.
Spleen-Stomach Institute, Guangzhou University of TCM, Guangzhou 510405.
Jia-Kai
JK
Liang
Ling
L
Hu
Xiao-Feng
XF
Zheng
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D016207:Cytokines