Abstract
AimThe present study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) on regulatory T (Treg) cells derived from immunosuppressed mice with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) pneumonia.MethodsA total of 108 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the following groups: control group (Control), immunosuppressed group (IS), PA pneumonia group (PA), PA pneumonia in immunosuppressed group (IS + PA), PA pneumonia with IVIG treatment in immunocompetent group (PA + IVIG) and PA pneumonia with IVIG treatment in immunosuppressed group (IS + PA + IVIG). Each group comprised 18 mice. The combined PA pneumonia in immunosuppressed model and the treatment models were established. The mice in each group were sacrificed at 4, 8, and 24 h time points. The general condition and pathological changes in the lung tissues of the mice were monitored. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) mRNA relative expression level in the lung tissues. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the serum concentration of active transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β).ResultsNo inflammatory response were exhibited in the lung tissues of the mice in Control group and IS group, while varying degrees of acute lung injury were revealed in the mice in PA group, IS + PA group, PA + IVIG group and IS + PA + IVIG group. Lung tissue injury was most apparent at the 8 h time point, and it indicated the greatest effect in IS + PA group. Whereas tissue damages were alleviated in PA + IVIG group and IS + PA + IVIG group compared with IS + PA group. In addition, tissue damage lessened in PA + IVIG group compared with PA group and IS + PA + IVIG group. FOXP3 mRNA expression levels in the lung tissues and the serum concentration of TGF-β were lower in IS group, PA group, IS + PA group and IS + PA + IVIG group at the 4, 8 and 24 h time points, respectively compared with Control group. FOXP3 mRNA expression levels decreased in PA + IVIG group at the 4h time point and TGF-β serum concentrations decreased at the 4 and 8h time points compared with Control group, and subsequently increased.ConclusionsIn the immunosuppred model with PA pneumonia, the immune system was greatly compromised. IVIG partially restored the immunosuppressed functions of Treg cells, suppressed the overactivated immune system and ameliorated the development of the disease.
Highlights
The number of multidrug-resistant pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) that can induce acute and chronic lung infection in immunosuppressed and/or immunodeficient patients is increasing annually worldwide [1,2,3]
intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) partially restored the immunosuppressed functions of Treg cells, suppressed the overactivated immune system and ameliorated the development of the disease
The present study investigated the effects of IVIG on Treg cells derived from immunosuppressed mice with PA pneumonia, via the detection of forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) mRNA expression level in lung tissue and the serum transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) concentration
Summary
The number of multidrug-resistant pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) that can induce acute and chronic lung infection in immunosuppressed and/or immunodeficient patients is increasing annually worldwide [1,2,3]. A majority of studies demonstrated that the function of the immune system was impaired in patients with autoimmune diseases. Treg cells are subsets of CD4+ T cells with specific immunosuppressive function that play an important role in the development of cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases [6]. Treg cells suppress immune cell activation, inhibit inflammatory cytokine secretion and regulate immune responses via the expression of a specific transcription factor namely, forkhead box P3 (FOXP3). During this process Treg cells secrete various anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) [7,8,9].
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