文本框: THE STUDY ON THE APOPTOTIC LEVELS OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN IDIOPATHIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA Wang KY, Peng GJ, Hu Q, Wang LY, Liu SY, Zhang LQ Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China Objective: The present study was designed to determine the apoptotic levels of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from 20 patients with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) before and after treatment. Methods: Apoptosis of PBLs was examined by flow cytometry of propidium odide- stained DNA, using apoptotic rates as a quantitive norm and electrophoresis of DNA in cells as a qualitative norm of apoptosis. Results: Rates of apoptosis in lymphocytes from 20 patients with acute ITP after treatment were significantly higher than that before treatment and that of 10 normal controls (P < 0.01). The spontaneous apoptosis rate of PBLs from patients before treatment after culture for 6 h in vitro is higher than that after treatment and normal controls (P < 0.01). Conclusion: ITP is well known as an autoimmune disease.Most children with ITP are acute.Apoptosis is a new concept in the physiopathology of autoimmune disease. Glucocorticoid is apoptosis-induced agent.Our findings suggest that there is an increase of activated lymphocytes before treatment compared with that after treatment and normal controls. PBLs’ apoptosis may eliminate the increased activated lymphocytes, playing some role in the onset and improving stage of patients with acute ITP after immunosuppressive treatment. Glucocorticoid may play its function through inducing PBLs’ apoptosis. 0974