Raised levels of Il-6, Il-17a, and Il-22 in fatal leptospirosis

This study aimed to assess the association between Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-related cytokines with the clinical outcome of patients with leptospirosis. Different cytokine levels were measured in fifty-two plasma samples of hospitalized patients diagnosed with leptospirosis in Malaysia (January 2016 –December 2017). Patients were divided into two separate categories: survived (n = 40) and fatal outcome (n = 12). Nineteen plasma samples from healthy individuals were obtained as controls. Cytokine quantification was performed using Simple Plex™ assays from ProteinSimple (San Jose, CA, USA). Measurements were done in triplicate and statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad software and SP SS v20. IL-6 (p = 0.033), IL-17A (p = 0.022), and IL-22 (p = 0.046) were significantly elevated in fatal cases. IL-17A concentration (OR 1.115; 95% CI 1.010–1.231) appeared to be an independent predictor of fatality of leptospirosis. Significantly higher levels of TNF-α (p ≤ 0.0001), IL-6 (p ≤ 0.0001), IL-10 (p ≤ 0.0001), IL-12 (p ≤ 0.0001), IL17A (p ≤ 0.0001), and IL-18 (p ≤ 0.0001) were observed among leptospirosis patients in comparison with healthy controls. Our study shows that certain cytokine levels may serve as possible prognostic biomarkers in leptospirosis patients.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research