Objective: To study the effects of TNF-α on ICAM-1 and LFA-1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of children with febrile seizures (FS).
Methods: Sixteen children with FS and 16 age- and gender-matched healthy children were enrolled. The samples of PBMC from FS children were randomized into two groups with or without TNF-α treatment (TNF-α concentration 1.0 ng/mL). PBMC were purified and cultured with a conventional method in vitro. The expression of ICAM-1 and LFA-1 in PBMC was determined by flow cytometry (FCM).
Results: ICAM-1[(20±9)% vs (14±7)%)]and LFA-1[(43±16)% vs (30±16)%]expression in PBMC in the untreated FS group was significantly higher than that in the normal control group (P<0.05). Compared with the untreated FS group, the treatment with TNF-α remarkably increased the ICAM-1 expression[(27±11)%](P<0.05). PBMC LFA-1 expression[(52±21)%]in the TNF-α-treated group was higher than that in the untreated FS group, although there were no statistical differences between the two groups.
Conclusions: TNF-α treatment may increase LFA-1 and ICAM-1 expression in PBMC of children with FS.