title: Th1/Th2 cytokines in Type 1 diabetes: Relation to duration of disease and gender.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  T-cells are important in the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the exact role of T-cell subpopulations in this pathway remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the expression pattern of T helper 1 (Th1) interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and Th2 interleukin-4 (IL-4) cytokines and their relationship with sex and disease duration in T1D patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted on 21 T1D patients and 22 healthy subjects. Gene expression analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was performed using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IFN-γ gene expression was significantly lower in T1D patients compared with controls (P < 0.05). Conversely, IL-4 mRNAs were significantly increased in the PBMCs from patients as compared to controls (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression of IL-4 and IFN-γ between men and women with T1D (P > 0.05) while IL-4 mRNA expression in male patients was about 1.9 folds higher than female patients. Moreover, IFN-γ mRNA expression in female patients was about 1.8 folds lower than male patients. Patients were divided into two groups regarding their disease duration: <10 years and >10 years. A significant increase in the IL-4 expression was observed between two groups of patients compared to controls (P < 0.0001). Conversely, there was a significant difference in the expression of IFN-γ only between patients with more than 10 years of disease duration (P = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data propose supplementary implications for the role of Th1/Th2 imbalance in T1D immunopathogenesis. Moreover, factors such as sex and disease duration may have some influence on cytokine mRNA expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran.
authors.forename: Hajar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vaseghi
authors.affiliation: Skin and Stem Cell Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zohreh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jadali
keywords: Autoimmunity; Type 1 diabetes; cytokine