BMC Immunology最新文献

{"title":"Sex-specific relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and antinuclear antibodies in U.S. adults, NHANES 2001-2004.","authors":"Zhen Gui, Shuying Li, Hanqing Yu, Lin Chang, Yong Chang","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00672-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00672-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The relationship of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and ANA positivity according to sex stratification is unclear. The propose of this study was to reveal the sex-specific relationship of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and ANA positivity in American people.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study was conducted in 2757 subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004. The logistic regression models were used to assess the correlation between the risk of ANA positivity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Generalized additive models and smooth fitting curves were used to evaluate the non-linear relationship of the risk of ANA positivity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Following multivariable adjustment, we observed a negative correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and the risk of ANA positivity in male participants, particularly in men non-white individuals and those exposed to second-hand smoke. However, there was no significant relationship observed in the female participants. Additionally, the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and the risk of ANA positivity followed an L-shaped pattern, with an inflection point at 18 ng/mL. When serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels fell below this inflection point, decrease of 1 unit in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations was linked to an 8% increase in the adjusted OR of ANA positivity (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.87, 0.97; p 0.0026).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In American men, nonlinear relationships were observed between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and the risk of ANA positivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"81"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11610096/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142766134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of the key targets for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury by RNA sequencing combined with bioinformatics methods.","authors":"Linghan Leng, Chenglin Wang, Yaxing Deng, Yingchun Hu","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00673-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00673-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This research probes into genes related to the risk of concurrent kidney injury in septic patients to provide reliable targets for early identification of sepsis-associated kidney injury and prognosis research.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Peripheral blood samples were isolated from 10 healthy individuals and 22 septic patients for RNA sequencing and differential analyses. Meanwhile, the top 1000 kidney-associated genes were chosen from the GTEx website. Subsequently, DEGs in sepsis were intersected with kidney-specific genes, followed by GO and KEGG analyses on these intersection genes. The predictive ability of hub genes for prognosis was evaluated using survival analysis. A meta-analysis was carried out to determine the differential expression profiles of hub genes between the sepsis surviving and dead groups. ROC curves were plotted to screen hub genes and clarify their diagnostic value. Cell line localization of hub genes was further clarified through single-cell RNA sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were 40 targets in the intersection between 1328 DEGs in sepsis and 1000 kidney-associated genes. These intersection genes were mainly engaged in functions and signaling pathways .Survival curves linked the higher levels of CD74 and IL32 to raised survival rates of patients, indicating positive correlations of CD74 and IL32 with patient prognosis. Meta-analysis revealed that CD74 and IL32 were highly expressed in the sepsis surviving group but poorly expressed in the sepsis dead group, showing statistically significant differences between these two groups. In the ROC analysis of hub genes, AUC values of CD74 (0.983) and IL32 (0.980) suggested their high diagnostic value. Lastly, CD74 was principally expressed in macrophages, while IL32 was mainly presented in T cells.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>CD74 and IL32, as biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of sepsis complicated with kidney injury, are highly expressed in macrophages and T cells, respectively, providing new diagnostic and prognostic targets for sepsis complicated with acute kidney injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"80"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11607809/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142766123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Predictors of change in CD4 cell count over time for HIV/AIDS patients on ART follow-up in northern Ethiopia: a retrospective longitudinal study.","authors":"Gebru Gebremeskel Gebrerufael, Zeytu Gashaw Asfaw","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00671-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00671-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"79"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11587770/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142715179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"IWR-1 attenuates the promotional effect of IL-36γ in a mouse model of psoriasis.","authors":"Wen-Ming Wang, Yi-Meng Gao, Xiao-Feng Zheng, Hong-Zhong Jin","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00669-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00669-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is essential for the regulation of adult stem cells, homeostasis, and tissue regeneration; however, the relationship between this pathway and interleukin (IL)-36γ in the pathogenesis of psoriasis remains unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, psoriasiform model mice were established using imiquimod (IMQ) induction. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to evaluate pathological morphologies, while immunohistochemistry was used to verify the expression patterns of β-catenin and the inflammatory factors IL-6, IL-17 A, and interferon (IFN)-γ.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>IL-36γ treatment increased psoriasis area and severity index scores, and enhanced proliferation of keratinocytes in IMQ-induced psoriatic mice. The effects of IL-36γ on the severity of psoriasiform lesions and epidermal hyperplasia were partly inhibited by IWR-1, which is an inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and molecules involved in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in psoriatic mouse skin, including IL-6, IL-17 A, IFN-γ, β-catenin, and Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), were upregulated by treatment with IL-36γ. Consistently, the effects of IL-36γ on the inflammatory response and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway were alleviated by IWR-1.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Taken together, our findings suggested that inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway may be useful in the alleviation of IL-36γ-induced psoriasis-like lesions.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"78"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11585084/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142692575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bioinformatics designing of an mRNA vaccine for Mokola virus (MOKV) using immunoinformatics as a secure strategy for successful vaccine development.","authors":"Elijah Kolawole Oladipo, James Akinwumi Ogunniran, Oluwaseyi Samuel Akinpelu, Tosin Omoboyede Omole, Stephen Feranmi Adeyemo, Boluwatife Ayobami Irewolede, Bamidele Abiodun Iwalokun, Olumide Faith Ajani, Helen Onyeaka","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00668-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00668-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Mokola Virus belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae and is genotype 3 of the Lyssavirus genera. A small number of cases of animal and human encephalomyelitis, mainly scattered over sub-Saharan Africa, have been linked to the Mokola Virus (MOKV). Currently there is no vaccine to protect against MOKV infection in people or animals. It has been proven that rabies vaccination does not confer immunity against MOKV infection, even though MOKV and the rabies virus are related. Using immunoinformatics approaches, this study designed an mRNA vaccine that can protect against all the five glycoproteins of the Mokola virus. NCBI was used to obtain the viral sequences, which were then screened for antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, B-cell epitopes, CD8 + T lymphocytes (CTL), and CD4 + T lymphocytes (HTL). These epitopes were used in the construction of the vaccine. Some extra co-translational residues were added to the mRNA vaccine construct. Its molecular weight is 129.19083 kDa, and its estimated pI is 8.58. It interacts rather steadily and with limited deformability with TLR 3, among other human innate immune receptors. Overall, the results show that the produced candidate vaccine is non-allergen, non-toxic, and can elicit T-cell and B-cell immune responses. These findings can further be subjected to in-vivo and in-vitro techniques for validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"77"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11577676/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142675146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive analysis of the relationship between RNA modification writers and immune microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.","authors":"Wei Li, Ying Chen, Yao Zhang, Wen Wen, Yingying Lu","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00667-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00667-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Four types of RNA modification writers (m6A, m1A, A-I editing, and APA) are widely involved in tumorigenesis and the TME. We aimed to comprehensively explore the role of the four RNA modification writers in the progression and immune microenvironment of HNSCC.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>We first obtained transcription profile data and transcriptional variation of the four types of RNA modification writers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. HNSCC patients in TCGA dataset were divided into different clusters based on the four types of RNA modification writers. Univariate Cox and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analyses were performed to conduct a Writer-score scoring system, which was successfully verified in the GSE65858 dataset and our clinical sample dataset. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between different RNA modification clusters (Writer-score) and immunological characteristics of HNSCC.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two different RNA modification clusters (A and B) were obtained. These RNA modification clusters (Writer-score) were strongly associated with immunological characteristics (immunomodulators, cancer immunity cycles, infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), inhibitory immune checkpoints, and T cell inflamed score (TIS)) of HNSCC.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study identified two different RNA modification clusters and explored the potential relationship between RNA modification clusters (Writer-score) and immunological characteristics, offering a new theoretical basis for precision immunotherapy in patients with HNSCC.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"76"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11558979/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142614292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Darbepoetin alpha has an anxiolytic and anti-neuroinflammatory effect in male rats.","authors":"Hasan Çalışkan, Deniz Önal, Erhan Nalçacı","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00665-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00665-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>We aimed to investigate the anxiolytic effect of darbepoetin alpha (DEPO), an erythropoietin derivative, in a neuroinflammation model regarding different behaviors and biological pathways.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty adult male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups (control, LPS, DEPO, and DEPO + LPS). The rats were treated with 5 µg /kg DEPO once a week for four weeks, after which neuroinflammation was induced with 2 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The elevated plus maze, open-field, and light‒dark box tests were conducted to assess anxiety levels. Harderian gland secretions were scored via observation. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β), brain-derived growth factor (BDNF), serotonin, cortisol, total antioxidant/oxidant (TAS/TOS), and total/free thiol levels were measured in the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and serum.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>DEPO had a potent anxiolytic effect on both DEPO and DEPO + LPS groups. Compared to the control group, DEPO administration caused an increase in serotonin and BDNF levels and decreased basal cortisol and TNF-α levels in naive rats. IL-1β did not alter after DEPO administration in naive rats. Prophylactic DEPO treatment remarkably downregulated cortisol, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the DEPO + LPS group. In addition, prophylactic DEPO administration significantly attenuated the decrease in serotonin and BDNF levels in the DEPO + LPS group. Furthermore, DEPO ameliorated excessive harderian gland secretion in the DEPO + LPS group. Compared with those in the control group, the free thiol content in the serum increased after DEPO administration. No similar effect was seen in the DEPO + LPS group receiving prophylactic DEPO. TAS showed no difference among all experimental groups. DEPO administration increased TOS and OSI in the serum and prefrontal cortex but not in the striatum. This effect was not seen in the DEPO + LPS group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Darbepoetin alpha had an anxiolytic effect on many physiological mechanisms in a neuroinflammation model and naive rats.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"75"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11552158/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142614299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptomic evidence for atopic dermatitis as a systemic disease in NC/Nga mice.","authors":"Young-Won Kim, Eun-A Ko, Jehee Jang, Seohyun Jeong, Donghyeon Kim, Jung Soo Suh, Se-Yeon Lee, Inja Lim, Sung-Cherl Jung, Jung-Ha Kim, Tong Zhou, Hyoweon Bang, Jae-Hong Ko","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00666-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00666-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In the current study, we evaluated whether atopic dermatitis (AD) affects the entire body rather than being limited to skin barrier damage and inflammation. We hypothesized that medium-term exposure of distant organs to systemic inflammatory cytokines in sub-chronic inflammatory skin diseases has detrimental effects on distant tissues.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings demonstrated the dysregulation of genes and pathways associated with inflammation and the skin barrier, as well as genes and pathways involved in muscle development that respond to chemicals or stress in muscle tissues, all of which were reversed by hydrocortisone (Hc) administration. The expression of Ces1d showed significant differences during disease onset and after treatment in both skin and skeletal muscle, suggesting that Ces1d is likely responsible for the alleviation of subchronic AD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Using NC/Nga mice with AD-like symptoms, we compared the transcriptomes of the skeletal muscle (a tissue that is relatively distant from the skin) with those of the skin (the lesion induction site) before and after disease induction, after which Hc was administered. Although further study is needed to better understand the effects of Ces1d on AD, skeletal muscle was associated with AD pathogenesis, and AD-like symptoms appeared to affect the body in a systemic manner. Given the importance of evidence-based medicine and the development of precision medicine, our findings provide insights into the mechanisms of AD onset and progression.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"74"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11544999/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142614304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Warning values of serum total kappa/lambda ratio for M-proteinemia.","authors":"Jie Lu, Ying Zhu, Huifang Huang, Qian Yang, Songnan Qi","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00664-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00664-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>To introduce the serum total kappa/lambda ratio (K/L) in humoral immunity testing reports to improve the detection rate of M-proteinemia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>156 M protein-positive and 5464 M protein-negative samples confirmed by serum immunofixation electrophoresis(sIFE) were accumulated from January 2021 to December 2023 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and the contents of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, kappa and lambda) were tested by Beckman IMMAGE800. All the samples were divided into two groups by time: the modeling group and the validation group. The K/L values in the modeling group were analyzed by SPSS 27.0 to get the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Furthermore, a more in-depth analysis was conducted to verify the reliability of the optimal cutoff values in the validation group. In addition, the levels of immunoglobulins of another group including 106 patients with definite diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy ranging from January 2021 to June 2024 were traced back to improve the diagnostic efficiency.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The optimal cutoff values of K/L were 2.31 and 1.43 corresponding to K-type and L-type M-proteinemia respectively by ROC analysis. The sensitivity and specificity were validated as 76.14% and 77.42%. False positives were mainly found in samples with systemic sclerosis (36.84%), hypohepatia (28.71%) and sicca syndrome (27.27%). While false negatives were mainly found in IgA monoclonal gammopathy (38.39%) and IgM monoclonal gammopathy (28.57%). Combining with the detection rules of IgG, IgA and IgM, the sensitivities for the diagnosis of immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis(AL) and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance(MGUS) can be increased to 83.33% and 85%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>K/L > 2.31 and K/L < 1.43 can be used as warning values for M-proteinemia. In addition, the content of the heavy chain in IgA- or IgM-type M-proteinemia may be considered to improve the detection rate.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"73"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11523637/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142543541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemokine CCL2 and its receptor CCR2 in different age groups of patients with COVID-19.","authors":"Vahid Bagheri, Hossein Khorramdelazad, Mehdi Kafi, Mitra Abbasifard","doi":"10.1186/s12865-024-00662-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12865-024-00662-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the development of various antiviral drugs, most of them are not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a hyperinflammatory disorder. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) is one of the critical CC chemokines involved in the pathogenesis and severity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to investigate the expression of CCL2 and CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) in COVID-19 patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Peripheral blood samples were collected from 60 confirmed COVID-19 patients and 60 age-matched healthy subjects. The ages of the subjects were categorized as follows: up to 20 years, 20 to 40 years, 40 to 60 years, and more than 60 years. CCL2 serum levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). CCR2 gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was measured employing real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In all age groups, CCL2 serum levels were significantly elevated in patients compared to healthy controls (P < 0.0001). CCL2 levels were higher in severe patients than in moderate patients. Moreover, CCR2 expression by PBMCs was higher in patients compared to control subjects. However, a significant difference between patients and controls over 60 years of age was identified (P = 0.0353). There was no significant difference in CCR2 expression between moderate and severe COVID-19 patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Taken together, the findings demonstrate that CCL2 and CCR2 are upregulated in COVID-19 patients at protein and mRNA levels, respectively. Therefore, the CCL2/CCR2 axis may be a potential therapeutic target in order to improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9040,"journal":{"name":"BMC Immunology","volume":"25 1","pages":"72"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11515099/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142494812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}