Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41059856›Full record

ArticleRevista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo2025

Role of the Notch ligand DLL4 in the immune response of children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

Heting Dong, Zhiao Du, Yaru Liao, Jiying Sun, Huiming Sun, Peng Mo, Ge Dai, Li Huang, Feng Huang, Chuangli Hao and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Immune dysregulation inFrontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
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

12 authors.

Heting DongSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Zhiao DuSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Yaru LiaoShandong University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinan, China.
Jiying SunSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Huiming SunSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Peng MoSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Ge DaiSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Li HuangSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Feng HuangSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Chuangli HaoSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Zhengrong ChenSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.
Yongdong YanSoochow University, Children's Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Suzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-1083-9587

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is a common pediatric respiratory infection linked to excessive immune-inflammatory responses. This study investigated the role of the Notch ligand DLL4 in the immunopathogenesis of MPP by assessing its expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of affected children. A total of 128 children with MPP and 35 controls were recruited. PBMCs were analyzed for the expression of Notch ligands (Jagged1, Jagged2, DLL1, DLL4) using real-time PCR. Lymphocyte subsets were assessed via flow cytometry, and cytokine levels were measured using ELISA. Clinical data were compared between severe and mild MPP cases, and correlations between DLL4 expression and immune indicators were evaluated. DLL4 expression was significantly higher in the MPP and severe MPP groups than in controls (P < 0.01). MPP patients showed lower CD3+ and CD3+CD4+ lymphocyte levels, and higher CD3+CD8+ and CD3-CD19+ levels compared with controls (P < 0.001). Plasma levels of IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-36α were elevated in MPP patients (P < 0.001), whereas IL-4 and IL-10 levels were reduced (P < 0.01). Severe cases had higher IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-36α levels than mild cases (P < 0.05). DLL4 expression positively correlated with plasma IFN-γ and IL-17 levels in MPP patients (P < 0.05). Elevated DLL4 expression in MPP patients, particularly in severe cases, suggests its role in enhancing Th1/Th17-mediated immune responses while suppressing Th2 pathways. Such findings implicate the Notch signaling pathway, via DLL4, in the immunopathogenesis of MPP and highlight its potential as a therapeutic target for modulating immune responses in severe MPP.

Indexed as

Intercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsMembrane ProteinsPneumonia, MycoplasmaAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingCalcium-Binding ProteinsCase-Control StudiesChildChild, PreschoolCytokinesEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayFemaleFlow CytometryHumansJagged-2 ProteinLeukocytes, MononuclearMaleAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingCalcium-Binding ProteinsCytokinesDLL4 protein, humanIntercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsJagged-2 ProteinMembrane Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41059856
PMCPMC12499519

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.