Dysregulated expression of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 is associated with the disease severity and the outcome of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the expression of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3) on peripheral blood cells in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients and to analyze its clinical significance. DESIGN AND METHODS: Tim-3 expression on peripheral immunocytes from ICH patients and healthy volunteers was measured by flow cytometry. The correlation between Tim-3 expression and the clinical indices was estimated using linear regression. RESULTS: Tim-3 expressions on peripheral CD3(+) T cells and CD8(+) T cells in ICH patients are significantly downregulated, while Tim-3 expressions on CD14(+) monocytes and CD16(+)CD56(+) NK cells are increased. Furthermore, Tim-3 expression on peripheral CD8(+) T cells was negatively correlated with the inflammatory response, the disease severity and the outcome of ICH patients. However, there was no relationship between Tim-3 expression and blood glucose concentration. CONCLUSIONS: Altered expression of Tim-3 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of ICH, demonstrating that Tim-3 might be a novel candidate molecule for prognosis evaluation of ICH patients.