Changes in Cytokine Levels in Patients with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus

Da-Li Xu; Xiao-Mei Zhang; Xue-Ying Tian; Xian-Jun Wang; Lin Zhao; Meng-Ying Gao; Lian-Feng Li; Jia-Qi Zhao; Wu-Chun Cao; Shu-Jun Ding

doi:10.2147/JIR.S444398

Changes in Cytokine Levels in Patients with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus

J Inflamm Res. 2024 Jan 12:17:211-222. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S444398. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Da-Li Xu¹, Xiao-Mei Zhang², Xue-Ying Tian², Xian-Jun Wang², Lin Zhao¹, Meng-Ying Gao¹, Lian-Feng Li¹, Jia-Qi Zhao¹, Wu-Chun Cao^#^{1

3}, Shu-Jun Ding^#²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong UniversityJinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
² Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: To characterize the cytokine profile of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in relation to disease severity.

Patients and methods: 60 laboratory-confirmed SFTS patients and 12 healthy individuals from multi-centers in Shandong Province of China were included, and all patients were divided into fatal patients (9) and recovered patients (51) due to their final outcomes. Multiplex-microbead immunoassays were conducted to estimate levels of 27 cytokines in the sera of patients and controls.

Results: The results showed that levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-15, IL-1RA, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, basic FGF, PDGF-BB, RANTES, IP-10, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MCP-1, and Eotaxin differed significantly among the SFTS fatal patients, recovered patients, and the healthy controls (all p<0.05). Compared to the healthy controls, the fatal patients and recovered patients had reduced levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, PDGF-BB, RANTES, and Eotaxin, while the levels of PDGF-BB and RANTES were significantly lower in fatal patients compared to recovered patients. The increasing levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-15, IL-1RA, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, basic FGF, IP-10, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and MCP-1 were observed in fatal patients (all p<0.05), and the levels of IL-6, IP-10, MIP-1α, and MCP-1 were significantly higher than other two groups. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between platelet count and PDGF-BB levels (p<0.05), while the white blood cell count had a negative correlation with MIP-1 level (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The research exhibited that the SFTS virus (SFTSV) caused an atypical manifestation of cytokines. The levels of IL-6, IP-10, MIP-1α, and MCP-1 had been observed a positive association with the severity of the illness.

Keywords: SFTS; SFTSV; correlation analysis; cytokines; fatal patients.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81102171), Shandong Province Science and Technology Development Plan (Grant No. 2012GHZ30031). The authors acknowledge that the funders did not play a part in the design of the study, the collection and analysis of data, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.