To explore the effect of TIPE2 in childhood asthma, we firstly detected the levels of TIPE2 mRNA and protein in PBMC of asthmatic children and normal controls. SAR245409 manufacturer The results showed both TIPE2 mRNA and protein in children with asthma were downregulated compared with healthy children. Now, the abnormal expression of TIPE2 has been found in several

human inflammatory diseases. It was reported that TIPE2 mRNA expression was significantly decreased in patients with SLE compared with healthy controls, and the TIPE2 mRNA expression levels negatively correlated with the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) and the myxoma resistance protein (MX1) mRNA expression levels in all the patients with SLE [7]. In addition, Xi W et al. [8] reported that patients with chronic hepatitis B had significantly reduced levels of TIPE2 expression in PBMC as compared to healthy individuals, and the TIPE2 expression negatively correlated with the blood levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin (Tbil) as well as the HBV load of the patients. However, it has been found that TIPE2 expression was significantly increased in glomeruli from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and renal biopsies of patients with diabetes [9]. Furthermore, Jia L et al. [23] found that the expression of TIPE2 in PBMC of chronic rejection group was significantly higher than that of the healthy control. The results suggest that

the abnormal expression of TIPE2 could participate in the pathogenesis AZD1152-HQPA cost of some chronic inflammatory diseases, but the mechanism may be different. The main immunological pathogenesis of asthma

is an imbalance in Th1 cell and Th2 cell. In this study, we measured the levels of Th1-type cytokine IL-4, Th2-type cytokine IFN-γ, serum total IgE and eosinophil count in patients with asthma and healthy controls. We found significantly higher levels of serum IL-4, IgE and eosinophil count, and lower Oxalosuccinic acid level of serum IFN-γ in asthmatic children, which suggests a Th2-dominated response in childhood asthma. These results were in line with the previous reports that elevated IL-4 and decreased IFN-γ protein secretion in allergic diseases were associated with overproduction of IgE and increase in eosinophil [24, 25]. To further determine the mechanism and significance of TIPE2 in patients with asthma, we analysed the correlations of TIPE2 mRNA expression with IL-4, IFN-γ, IgE and eosinophil count. The results showed obviously negative correlations of TIPE2 expression with IL-4, IgE and EO. Unfortunately, no statistically significant correlation was observed between TIPE2 and IFN-γ. It was reported that TIPE2 inhibited T cells activation through negatively regulating the TCR-mediated signalling pathway in mice, and purified T cells from TIPE2−/− mice were hyper-reactive to TCR ligation and produced significantly higher levels of Th17 cytokines as compared to WT controls [6].