Aim: To explore the changes of TNF, sIL-2R, IL-6, IL-4 and IFN-gamma levels in plasma from patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) and analyze the correlation between these cytokine levels and alanine aminotransferase(ALT) level in sera from the patients.
Methods: The cytokine levels were measured by double mAb sandwich ELISA. An automatic biochemical detector(RA-1000) was employed to determine the ALT level.
Results: Levels of TNF, IL-6, IL-4, IFN-gamma and sIL-2R in plasma from the patients were(95.82+/-12.04), (362.46+/-141.26), (17.76+/-3.52), (116.18+/-19.80) ng/L and (898 820+/-127 200) U/L, respectively. These cytokines in plasma from healthy donors were (17.89+/-1.68), (43.81+/-18.08), (4.86+/-1.14), (7.57+/-2.41) ng/L and (66 730+/-29 690) U/L, respectively. The cytokine levels of the patients were notably higher than those of the healthy donors.(P<0.01). At the same time, the average ALT level in sera from the patients was 4.4 fold of that from the healthy donors. Statistical analysis showed that levels of TNF, sIL-2R, IL-6 and IFN-gamma were positively correlated with ALT level, respectively.
Conclusion: The HFRS patients have a significant increase in both cytokines (TNF, sIL-2R, IL-6 and IFN-gamma) and ALT levels. And there is a positive correlation between those cytokine and ALT levels, suggesting that the liver injury during HTNV infection may be related to the elevation of above cytokine levels.