Objective: To investigate the expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1) in monocytes of burn patients at early post-burn stage, and its significance.
Methods: The monocytes of 8 healthy volunteers (A group), 29 patients with mild and moderate burn (B group), and 9 patients with severe and very serious burns (C group) were isolated from the blood, and the THEM-1 mRNA and protein expression were determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry, respectively. The plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta were determined by ELISA method.
Results: The value of TREM-1 mRNA expression in A, B and C groups were 0.74 +/- 0.13, 1.24 +/- 0.09, and 1.46 +/-0.07, respectively, and the expression rates on cell surface in the 3 groups were (9 +/- 4)%, (51 +/- 6)%, and (71 +/- 7)%, respectively, and there were significant differences among the three groups (P = 0.000). the plasma levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta in B and C groups were obviously higher than that in A group (P = 0.000), and they were positively correlated to TREM-1 expression (rs = 0.68, 0.72, P = 0.000).
Conclusion: Increased expression of TREM-1 in monocytes of burn patients at early post-burn stage is correlated with the release of inflammatory factors, indicating that TREM-1 might contribute to the onset and development of acute inflammatory response after burns.