title: Altered expression of T cell Immunoglobulin-Mucin (Tim) molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in aplastic anemia.
abstract: To evaluate the balance between T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain (Tim) molecules(Tim)-1 and Tim-3 in patients with aplastic anemia (AA), plasma IFN-γ and IL-4 levels were measured in patients with active AA (n = 41), AA in remission (n = 29) and in healthy subjects (n = 40) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-4, Tim-1 and Tim-3 were studied in all subjects. The results showed that the expression of Tim-3 in newly diagnosed patients was significantly deceased, compared with the controls. Meanwhile, Tim-1 mRNA expression in the active AA group was not significantly reduced, which resulted in a declined ratio of Tim-3/Tim-1 in patients with active disease. During the remission stages, the levels of these transcription factors were comparable with those observed in the healthy controls. These findings are the first data on the expression of the Tim-1 and Tim-3 molecules in AA. The reduced levels of Tim-3/Tim-1 in PBMCs during the active stages of disease suggest that they may play a possible role in the pathogenesis and course of AA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jing Wu Road, Jinan, Shandong 250021 China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jing Wu Road, Jinan, Shandong 250021 China.
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jing Wu Road, Jinan, Shandong 250021 China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jing Wu Road, Jinan, Shandong 250021 China.
authors.forename: Ning-Ning
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 324 Jing Wu Road, Jinan, Shandong 250021 China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Haematology Oncology Centre, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Aplastic anemia; Cytokines; IFN-γ; Interleukin 4; RT-PCR; T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain