Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of dialysis-induced peritonitis on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor(PPAR)-γ mRNA expression of peritoneal monocyte in peritoneal dialysis patients. Methods Thirty-nine peritoneal dialysis patients were divided into experimental group(EG，n=19) and control group (CG，n=20). The PPAR-γ gene expression of peripheral blood(PB) monocyte and peritoneal dialysis effluent (PDE) was examined by RT-PCR. The TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations of peripheral blood monocyte were estimated by ELISA. Results The PPAR-γ mRNA expression of peripheral blood monocyte and PDE monocyte on day 1 of EG (0.52±0.06 and 0.68±0.07) respectively was significantly lower than that of CG (0.68±0.08 and 0.93±0.06) respectively that of EG and on day 5 (0.66±0.09 and 0.89±0.08 respectively). The TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations of peripheral blood monocyte on day 1 of EG [(20.16±11.26)ng/L and (26.89±13.46)ng/L respectively] were significantly higher than that of CG [(6.38±4.28)ng/L and (8.96±4.67)ng/L respectively] and day 5 of EG [(5.39±3.50)ng/L and (7.83±4.26)ng/L respectively]. A significant negative correlation were observed between TNF-α and IL-6 concentration and PPAR γ mRNA expression. Conclusion The PPAR-γ mRNA expression was significantly low at the initial stage of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients. These data indicate that the PPARγ might be involved in the defense mechanism of the peritoneum.

Key words: Peritonitis, Peroxisorne proliferator-activated receptor-γ