Profiles of responses of immunological factors to different subtypes of Kawasaki disease.
BACKGROUND
The responses of immunological factors to different subtypes of Kawasaki disease (KD) remain poorly understood.


METHODS
We recruited 388 patients with KD, 160 patients with infectious febrile disease and 85 normal children who served as control subjects. Both the levels and percentages of T lymphocyte subsets, natural killer cells (NK cells) and B cells were analyzed via flow cytometry. The levels of serum IgG, IgM, IgA and C3, C4 were assessed via velocity scatter turbidimetry.


RESULTS
The most significant differences noted between the patients with infectious febrile disease and the normal children were the elevated levels of B cells, C3 and the ratio of CD4/CD8, and the decreased levels of CD8+ T cells and NK cells, as well as the moderate increase in the absolute value of the CD3+ cells. The decreased T cell levels and the elevated B cell levels were helpful in distinguishing typical KD from atypical KD; the elevated T cell levels, the elevated NK cell and B cell levels and the decreased B cell levels were helpful in predicting the effectiveness of IVIG; low C3 and C4 levels were linked with prodromal infections.


CONCLUSIONS
Lymphocytes subsets and complement markers may be useful in differentiating among the different subtypes of KD and in helping clinicians understand the pathophysiology of KD.
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430016, P.R. China. dingyanmx@163.com.
Yan
Y
Ding
Department of Infectious Diseases, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, 442000, P.R. China. 439653434@qq.com.
Gang
G
Li
Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, P.R. China. 1104820891@qq.com.
Li-Juan
LJ
Xiong
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430016, P.R. China. 18696174676@163.com.
Wei
W
Yin
Department of Critical-Care Medicine, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, 442000, P.R. China. 28799898@qq.com.
Jie
J
Liu
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430016, P.R. China. lfan6969@sina.com.
Fan
F
Liu
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430016, P.R. China. WRG524@21cn.com.
Rui-Geng
RG
Wang
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430016, P.R. China. xiakunwhy@163.com.
Kun
K
Xia
Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, P.R. China. chineseomd@yahoo.com.
Shu-Ling
SL
Zhang
Department of Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, P.R. China. chinesemd@hotmail.com.
Lei
L
Zhao
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
D007136:Immunoglobulins