Expression of granulysin in patients with different types of drug eruption

Abstract

Objective To compare the cellular and serum expression levels of granulysin among patients with different types of drug eruption.Methods Blood samples were collected from 7 patients with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN),5 patients with acute Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS),8 patients with erythema multiforme,8 patients with exanthematic drug eruption,and 11 healthy controls.Flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to quantify the protein expression of granulysin in peripheral blood T cells and sera from these subjects,respectively.Data were processed by the SPSS17.0 software,and differences in these parameters were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and independent or paired sample t-test.Results The serum level of granulysin in patients with TEN or acute SJS was significantly higher than that in those with exanthematic drug eruption and healthy controls ((0.196 ± 0.079) μg/L vs.(0.022 ± 0.003) μg/L and (0.013 ±0.005) μg/L,F =3.926,P ＜ 0.05),but similar to that in those with erythema multiforme ((0.058 ± 0.004) μg/L,P ＞0.05).Significant differences were observed in the proportion of CD8+ T cells expressing granulysin in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) between patients with TEN or acute SJS,erythema multiforme,exanthematic drug eruption,and healthy controls ((3.400 ± 0.754)％ vs.(0.600 ± 0.250)％ vs.(0.342 ± 0.251)％ vs.(0.054 ±0.024)％,F =11.4,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Granulysin is highly expressed in patients with TEN and SJS,which may have potential value for their differential diagnosis and prognosis evaluation at acute phase.