Perioperative blood transfusion is associated with a gene transcription profile characteristic of immunosuppression: a prospective cohort study

Table 1 Selected cytokines and transcription factors and their related pathways

Gene	Immune pathway	Contributes to anti (-) or pro (+) inflammatory phenotype^a
TNFα (TNF)^b	Common end product of many innate and adaptive immune pathways	+
IFNα (IFNG)^b	T_h1 effector cytokine	+
IL-12 (IL12A)^b	Promotes differentiation to T_h1 effector cells	+
T-bet (TBX21)^b	Transcription factor utilised by T_h1 cells	+
IL-23 (IL23A)^b	Promotes differentiation to T_h17 phenotype	+
IL-27 (IL27)^b	Inhibits differentiation to T_h17 phenotype	-
RORγT (RORC)^b	Transcription factor utilised by T_h17 cells	+
IL-10 (IL10)^b	Anti-inflammatory cytokine produced by many T cell subtypes and some macrophages	-
Foxp3 (FOXP3)^b	Transcription factor utilised by naturally occurring CD4⁺ CD25⁺ T_reg cells	-
GATA3 (GATA3)^b	Transcription factor utilised by T_h2 cells	-

^aCytokines and transcription factors will have diverse actions under different conditions and the descriptions above are primarily for illustrative purposes and are not exhaustive; ^bdenotes official gene name as described by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC). Foxp3, forkhead box P3; GATA3, GATA-binding protein 3; IFNγ, interferon gamma; IL-12, interleukin 12; IL-23, interleukin 23; IL-27, interleukin 27; RORγt, RAR-related orphan receptor gamma T; T_h1, T-helper cell type 1; T_h17, T-helper cell type 17; T_h2, T-helper cell type 2; TNFɑ, tumour necrosis factor alpha; T_reg, T regulatory cell.

ISSN: 1364-8535