Objective: To explore the expression levels of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain protein 3 (Tim-3) on peripheral blood CD4+ T cells and its correlation with liver function damage parameters in advanced schistosomiasis patients.
Method: Totally 28 advanced schistosomiasis patients were selected as study subjects, and 20 chronic schistosomiasis patients and 30 healthy persons were selected as controls. The expression levels of Tim-3 on CD4+ T cell were detected by flow cytometry, and the serum IFN-γ and IL-4 levels were detected by ELISA. Hitachi 7600 biochemical analyzer was used to analyze the liver function parameters (ALT, γ-GT and TBIL).
Results: There was a significant difference in Tim-3 expression among the three groups (F = 4.578,P < 0.05). Tim-3 expression level in advanced schistosomiasis patients was (8.33 ± 2.28)%, which was significantly higher than that of the healthy control group (6.57 ± 1.99)% (t = 3.015, P < 0.01). The Spearman nonparametric correlation analysis showed that the Tim-3 expression level on CD4+ T cells in advanced schistosomiasis patients was positively correlated with the serum ALT(r, = 0.746, P < 0.01), γ-GT(r, = 0.656, P < 0.01) and IL-4(r, = 0.672, P < 0.01) levels, but negatively correlated with the serum IFN-γ levels (r(s) = -0.404, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The expression of Tim-3 on peripheral CD4' T cells is increased in advanced schistosomiasis patients, which may regulate the function of CD4' T cells and then be involved in the liver damage process of advanced schistosomiasis.