Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the relative expression levels of signal transduction activator (STAT) 1, STAT3 and interleukin(IL) -1β messenger RNA (mRNA) in the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients complicated with bacterial infection and analyze the association with balance of helper T cell 1 (Th1)/helper T cell 2 (Th2).
METHODS A total of 30 SLE patients with bacterial infection and 35 SLE patients without bacterial infection who were treated in Peking University Medical Offshore Oil Hospital from Jan 2020 to Jun 2023 were enrolled in the study and were respectively assigned as the infection group and the non-infection group. The expression levels of peripheral blood Th1, Th2, STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β were compared between the two groups of patients, the association between STAT1, STAT3, IL-1β and Th1, Th2 was observed, and the values of STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β in diagnosis of bacterial infection in the SLE patients were analyzed by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
RESULTS The expression levels of Th1 and Th1/Th2 of the infection group were significantly lower than those of the non-infection group(P < 0.05), while the expression levels of Th2, STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β of the infection group were significantly higher than those of the non-infection group(P < 0.05). The STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β were negatively correlated with the Th1 and Th1/Th2(P < 0.05) but were positively correlated with Th2(P < 0.05). The area under curve (AUC) of STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β was 0.950 in diagnosis of bacterial infection in the SLE patients, with the sensitivity 86.67%, the specificity 94.29%.
CONCLUSION The SLE patients complicated with bacterial infection show the decline of expression levels of peripheral blood Th1 and Th1/Th2 and the rise of expression levels of Th2, STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β. STAT1, STAT3 and IL-1β are negatively correlated with Th1 and Th1/Th2 but were positively correlated with Th2. The joint detection of STAT1, STAT2 and IL-1β has high value in diagnosis of the bacterial infection in the SLE patients.