Effects of dexamethasone on peripheral blood lymphocytes activation and apoptosis in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome

Objective To explore the effect of dexamethasone on peripheral blood lymphocytes(PBLs) activation and apoptosis in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome(INS).Methods Twenty-eight children with INS were divided into two groups,sensitive(SS) group and steroid resistant(SR) group,with ten healthy children serving as the control.PBLs isolated from the three groups were mixed with dexamethasone of varied concentrations and cultivated.Flow cytometry(FACS) was then adopted to calculate the percentage of PBLs expressing CD3 and CD25 and that of apoptotic PBLs.Results The percentage of PBLs expressing CD3 and CD25 was significantly higher in SS than those in SR and healthy control groups(P0.05);the apoptosis rate was significantly lower in SS group than in SR and healthy control groups(P0.05).The percentage of CD25 positive PBLs in the SS was significantly lowered and its apoptosis rate was significantly increased by dexamethasone treatment(P0.01).These changes were not seen in the SR and healthy control samples(P0.05).Conclusion The PBLs activation is increased and their apoptosis is delayed in the SS INS children,while this mechanism is disordered in the SR patients.