Abstract: Objective To investigate the mRNA expression of Th1 type cytokines in SLE patients. Methods Applying RT-PCR technique to semiquantitatively analyse the IL-2 mRNA expression in PBMCs from 41 SLE patients and IFN-γ mRNA expression in PBMCs from 31 SLE patients. Results Compared with normal controls,the SLE patients with decreased expression of IL-2 accounted for 78.0% of the SLE patients in active stage,and those with decreased expression of IFN-γ accounted for 83.9%,the mean levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ expression in SLE group were significantly decreased as well (P<0.01,both). Conclusion The Th1 type cytokine expression of SLE patients in active stage is down regulated,which may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Key words: Lupus erythematosus,systemic, Interleukin-2, Interferon typeⅡ, RNA,messenger, Polymerase chain reaction