Interleukin-27 affects IFN-γ and IL-4 activities in children with asthma

Objective To study the effect of interleukin(IL)-27 on INF and IL-4 activities in children with asthma.Methods The levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 in culture supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) from 23 asthmatic children were measured using ELISA.PBMCs were cultured with recombinant IL-27(5 ng /mL or 0.5 ng /mL)for 12 hrs in vitro.Results IFN-γ levels in both 5 ng /mL and 0.5 ng /mL IL-27 treatment groups(85.9 ± 12.2 and 8.9 ± 2.3 μg /L,respectively) increased compared with those in the cytokine stimulated control group(P < 0.01,P < 0.05 respectively).The group treated with 5 ng /mL IL-27 had decreased significantly IL-4 levels compared with the cytokine stimulated control group(15.0 ± 1.9 μg /L vs 77.0 ± 15.6 μg /L;P < 0.01).Conclusions IL-27 may be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.It may affect Th1 /Th2 cell activities and might be a new option for the treatment of asthma.