Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39997909›Full record

ArticleToxics2025

Fluoride-Mediated Immune Damage Through Cytokine Network Regulation of Tregs.

Bingshu Liu, Siqi Zhu, Qiong Zhang, Fengyu Xie, Dan Wei, Guiyu Fu, Liu Yang, Yanhui Gao, Wei Wei

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Toxics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Bingshu LiuCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.ORCID 0009-0007-3394-4920
Siqi ZhuCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.ORCID 0000-0002-1601-9940
Qiong ZhangCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Fengyu XieCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Dan WeiCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Guiyu FuJining Center For Disease Control And Prevention, Shandong Province, Jining 272000, China.
Liu YangCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Yanhui GaoCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Wei WeiCenter for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4141-8644

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82373699The National Key R&D Program of China 2022YFC2503000
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Long-term fluoride exposure can induce inflammatory responses in various tissues of the body, thereby affecting the inflammatory microenvironment. To explore how fluoride induces changes in immune function within this microenvironment, this study collected baseline information and biological samples from participants in areas with the drinking water type of fluorosis, and simultaneously established Wistar rat models with a 12-week and 24-week fluoride exposure, as well as a 12-week fluoride exposure followed by 12-week pure water feeding regimen. Luminex multiplex assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to measure cytokine expression levels. Subsequently, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis were employed to explore the long-term effects induced by the complex cytokine network during fluoride exposure. The population survey results indicated that fluoride suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory factors such as Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-12 (IL-12), Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory factors such as Interleukin-4 (IL-4), Interleukin-13 (IL-13), and Interleukin-37 (IL-37), while promoting an increase in the proportion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in peripheral blood. Among these, IL-2 and IFN-γ mediated the fluoride-induced peripheral Tregs expansion. Animal experiments indicate that the proportion of Tregs in peripheral blood and immune organs increases in a time-dependent manner with fluoride exposure. After reducing the fluoride concentration in the drinking water of rats, the number of Tregs remained significantly elevated. The changes in Treg numbers in the 12-week fluoride feeding group, 24-week fluoride feeding group, and 12-week fluoride feeding followed by 12-week water improvement group were related to the cytokine levels. Therefore, the impact of fluoride on the immune homeostasis has cumulative and long-term effects, and may be related to the accumulation and migration of Tregs induced by fluoride in an inflammatory environment, mediated by cytokines.

Indexed as

cytokinesfluorosisinflammationregulatory T cells

Identifiers

PMID39997909
PMCPMC11861542

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.