• Rodrigo Rodrigues, Gabriela Debom, Fabiano Soares, Caroline Machado, Jéssica Pureza, William Peres, Gilberto de Lima Garcias, Marta Frescura Duarte, Maria Rosa Chitolina Schetinger, Francieli Stefanello, Elizandra Braganhol, and Roselia Spanevello.
• Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica e Bioprospecção, Centro de Ciências Químicas, Farmacêuticas e de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Universitário S/N, Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
• Clin. Chim. Acta. 2014 Jun 10; 433: 105-10.

BackgroundSubjects with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased susceptibility to infections and autoimmune disorders. ATP, adenosine, and acetylcholine contribute to the immune response regulation, and NTPDase, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) are important enzymes in the control of the extracellular levels of these molecules. We evaluated the activities of these enzymes and the cytokine levels in samples of DS individuals.MethodsThe population consisted of 23 subjects with DS and 23 healthy subjects. Twelve milliliters of blood was obtained from each subject and used for lymphocyte and serum preparation. Lymphocytes were separated on Ficoll density gradients. After isolation, NTPDase and AChE activities were determined.ResultsThe NTPDase activity using ADP as substrate was increased in lymphocytes of DS patients compared to control (P<0.05); however, no alterations were observed in the ATP hydrolysis. An increase was observed in the AChE activity in lymphocytes and in ADA activity in serum of DS patients when compared to healthy subjects (P<0.05). In DS subjects, an increase in the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ and a decrease in the IL-10 levels were also observed (P<0.05).ConclusionsAlterations in the NTPDase, ADA and AChE activities as well changes in the cytokine levels may contribute to immunological alterations observed in DS.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

23 keywords...

hide…