The effect of thymopentin on immune function and inflammatory levels in end-stage renal disease patients with maintenance hemodialysis

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated and analyzed the effect of Thymopentin on immune function and inflammatory levels in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who were undergoing maintenance hemodialysis.

Methods: A total of 112 patients with ESRD on regular hemodialysi from May 2018 to October 2019 were chosen and classified into an observation group and a control group by a convenience sampling method, with 56 cases in each group. The control-group was treated with conventional therapy, and the observation-group was treated with thymic pentapeptide based on the conventional treatment. The two groups' improvements in inflammation level, immunological functioning and living quality before and after treatment were compared.

Results: IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and hs-CRP levels in the observation group after treatment were (5.52±1.46) ng/L, (18.76±2.83) ng/L, (3.27±1.08) pmol/L and (24.12±2.96) mg/L respectively, which were lower than (6.68±1.51) ng/L, (24.12±2.96) ng/L, (5.13±1.15) pmol/L and (6.46±1.19) mg/L in the control group (t=4.133, 9.795, 8.828, 6.198; P<0.05). After treatment, SOD level in the observation-group was (115.52±9.46) u/mL, which was higher than that of (104.68±9.21) u/mL in the control group (t=6.144, P<0.05); and MDA in the observation-group was (4.06±0.83) u/mL, which was lower than that of (5.22±0.96) u/mL in the control group (t=6.840, P<0.05). In addition, CD3⁺ (68.25±12.54)%, CD4⁺ (49.17±6.23)%, and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ (1.95±0.37) in the observation group during post-intervention were higher than of the counterparts (62.61±10.23)%, (45.21±5.89)% (1.71±0.32) in the control group (t=2.608, 3.457, 4.807; P<0.05); while CD8⁺ in the observation group (20.14±5.25)% was lower than that in the control group (25.01±5.47)% (t=3.671; P<0.05). The SF-36 score in the observation group after treatment was (73.43±5.59) points, which was superior to the score (66.06±5.22) in the control group (t=7.211, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Thymopentin can greatly improve the micro-inflammatory state of ESRD patients with maintenance hemodialysis, thereby improving the patient's immune function and living quality.

Keywords: End-stage renal disease; immunological functioning; inflammatory cytokines; maintenance hemodialysis; thymopentin.

Figure 1

Comparison of SF-36 scores between the two groups before and after treatment. Note: Compared with before treatment, *P<0.05; Compared with control group, #P<0.05.