[Increased serum levels of soluble T cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule 3 and IL-4 and decreased IFN-γ in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis].

Objective To detect the serum levels of soluble T cell immunoglobulin mucin molecule 3 (sTim-3), IFN-γ and IL-4 in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods Peripheral blood was collected from 48 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 healthy controls. The serum level of sTim-3 was detected by ELISA. The levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were determined by cytokine bead array (CBA). The correlations between sTim-3, IFN-γ and IL-4 levels in sera of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were analyzed by Pearson correlation test. Results Compared with the control group, the serum levels of sTim-3 and IL-4 increased significantly, while the level of IFN-γ decreased significantly. Pearson analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between sTim-3 and IFN-γ as well as between IFN-γ and IL-4 in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, while sTim-3 and IL-4 were positively correlated. Conclusion The serum levels of sTim-3 and IL-4 increase, but IFN-γ decreases in the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.