TY - JOUR T1 - Upregulation of T-bet expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells during Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease JF - British Journal of Ophthalmology JO - Br J Ophthalmol SP - 1410 LP - 1412 DO - 10.1136/bjo.2005.074062 VL - 89 IS - 11 AU - B Li AU - P Yang AU - H Zhou AU - X Huang AU - H Jin AU - L Chu AU - Y Gao AU - L Zhu AU - A Kijlstra Y1 - 2005/11/01 UR - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/89/11/1410.abstract N2 - Aim: To test the hypothesis that T-bet expression is altered in patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease. Methods: Peripheral blood was withdrawn from 16 VKH patients before and after immunosuppressive treatment and from 16 healthy individuals. IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-4 in the serum and the supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) cultured with or without phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) were measured by ELISA. T-bet mRNA and protein expression in PBMC cultured with or without PHA was detected by RT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Results: The level of IFN-γ, but not IL-2 and IL-4, was significantly higher in the supernatants of stimulated PBMC in patients than in controls. A significantly increased T-bet mRNA was found in VKH patients during an active uveitis episode, but not in quiescent patients, compared to controls. T-bet protein was detectable in VKH patients during an active uveitis episode, but not in quiescent patients nor in the healthy controls. Stimulation of PBMC with PHA resulted in a marked upregulation of T-bet mRNA and protein expression for both patients and controls with no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Upregulation of T-bet may be associated with the development of a Th1 mediated immune response in VKH disease. ER -