The study of the serum levels of IL-10 and TGF-beta1 in children with eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders compared to children with gastroesophageal reflux disease and healthy controls

Background: Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) are a heterogeneous group of GI disorders, associated with an increase of the eosinophils in the gastrointestinal mucosal tissue. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), as a subset of T cells with proven prominent role in immunopathology and protection against allergic diseases, appear to play a role in EGID pathogenesis. In the present study, serum levels of TGF-β and IL-10were studied in patients with EGID compared to patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: A total of 34 patients with EGID, 23 with GERD, and 25 healthy controls were included. The diagnoses of EGID and GERD were made based on patients' clinical symptoms, endoscopic findings, and biopsy confirmation. A questionnaire including demographic information, allergy history, as well as endoscopic-pathological and skin prick test results was completed. The serum levels of TGF-β and IL-10 were measured using ELISA method. Results: Family history of allergic disorders in patients with EGID or GERD showed a significant increase compared to healthy controls (p=0.010, p=0.005, respectively).There were a statistically significant increase in serum levels of TGF-β1 (p=0.025) but no significant difference was observed in serum level of IL-10 between three groups. Serum level of IL-10 was significantly increased in subgroup of patients with upper gastrointestinal eosinophilic involvement compared to Healthy controls (p=0.018). Discussion: Significant increase in serum level of Il-10 and TGF- β might be a result of Treg dysfunction in EGID patients. Further studies need to clear the role of Tregs in the pathogenesis of EGID.