• Li-Na Han, Shu-Li Guo, Tie-Ling Li, Guo-Lei Ding, Ya-Jing Zhang, and Jin-Ling Ma.
• First Department of Geriatric Cardiology Internal Medicine, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Number 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China.
• Immunotherapy. 2013 Feb 1; 5 (2): 143-53.

AimThe aim of this study was to explore the role of immune modulation therapy in regulating the imbalance of Th1/Th2, serum IFN-γ, IL-4 and the T-cell-specific transcription factors T-bet/GATA-3 in peripheral blood in aging male patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency (CCI).Patients & MethodsIn total, 156 participants were divided into three groups: the CCI intervention group, which received regular therapy and thymopetidum (20 mg intramuscular injection, once every other day for 3 months; n = 70), the CCI control group, which received regular therapy (n = 56) and 50 healthy individuals older than 57 years of age, who served as normal controls.ResultsBefore therapy, in comparison with the control group, levels of left ventricular end diastolic diameter, NT-proBNP, C-reactive protein (CRP), Th1, Th1/Th2, IFN-γ, and T-bet mRNA and T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA all increased, and the level of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), 6MWT, Th2, IL-4, and GATA-3 mRNA also decreased in both the CCI intervention and control groups. Linear correlation analysis indicated that LVEF was inversely correlated with serum NT-proBNP, CRP, Th1/Th2, IFN-γ and T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA, and was positively correlated with plasma IL-4. After 3 months of therapy, levels of left ventricular end diastolic diameter, NT-proBNP, CRP, Th1, Th1/Th2, IFN-γ, T-bet mRNA and T-bet/GATA-3 mRNA decreased in the two CCI subgroups, but levels in the CCI intervention group were lower in comparison to the control group. Levels of LVEF, 6MWT, Th2 and GATA-3 mRNA increased in the two CCI subgroups, while levels in the CCI intervention group were higher in comparison with the control group. Plasma levels of IL-4 showed no change after treatment.ConclusionImmune modulation improved cardiac function of CCI patients and was associated with amelioration of T-helper superficial transcription factor polarization and its related cytokine imbalance. Immune modulation might be a new treatment strategy for aging CCI patients.

46 keywords...

hide…