Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical characteristics of the patients with
Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection and observe the effect of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathways on immune response.
METHODS A total of 120 patients with
M.pneumoniae infection who were treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from Jun 2021 to May 2022 were recruited as the research subjects, 60 of whom were treated with macrolides for no less than 7 days and were assigned as the refractory
M.pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP) group, and the rest of 60 patients were assigned as the MPP group; 60 healthy people who received physical examination in 2022 were chosen as the control group. The clinical symptoms and quality of life (QOL) were assessed, and the levels of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathways proteins, mRNA, inflammatory factors and T lymphocyte subsets were detected for the three groups.
RESULTS The incidence of clinical symptoms of the RMPP group was higher than that of the MPP group (
P<0.05). The score of QOL of the control group was higher than that of the MPP group, and the score of QOL of the MPP group was higher than that of the RMPP group(
P<0.05). The levels of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), interferon-γ(IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin(IL)-4, IL-6 and IL-10 of the MPP group and the RMPP group were higher than those of the control group, while the IL-1β level of the MPP group and the RMPP group was lower than that of the control group(
P<0.05). The levels of CD
3+, CD
4+ and CD
8+ of the RMPP group were lower than those of the control group and the MPP group; the CD
4+/CD
8+ level was the lowest in the control group, the highest in the RMPP group(
P<0.05). The expression levels of TGF-β1, Smad3 proteins and mRNA of the MPP group and the RMPP group were higher than those of the control group, while the expression levels of Smad7 and mRNA of the MPP group and the RMPP group were lower than those of the control group(
P<0.05).
CONCLUSION The
M.pneumoniae infection is associated with the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathways. The TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathways can mediate the immune response of the patients with Mycoplasma pneumonia.