OBJECTIVETo investigate the levels of immunoregulatory cytokine IL-2, pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) of chronic prostatitis (CP) patients and to evaluate the significance of the cytokines to the pathogenesis and diagnosis of CP.

METHODSIL-2, IL-8 and IL-10 levels were measured in the EPS of 31 CP patients and 10 normal controls by enzyme-linked immune sandwich assay (ELISA). Urine was cultured and EPS studied according to the 2-glass test. NIH-CPSI (NIH-chronic prostatitis symptom index) was performed in every patient. The cases of CP were divided into 3 types: II (n=5), IIIA (n=13) and IIIB (n=13) according to NIH.

RESULTSThe IL-8 levels in CP patients were significantly higher (P < 0.05) while the IL-2 and IL-10 levels significantly lower than those in the controls (both P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the cytokine levels in II CP and in IIIA CP (P > 0.05). The IL-8 levels in IIIB CP were significantly lower than those in both II CP and IIIA CP (both P < 0.05). The IL-8 levels were correlated directly with WBC count (r = 0.663, P < 0.05) , and inversely with IL-10 levels (r = -0.503, P < 0.05), but there was no correlation between NIH-CPSI scores and cytokines levels (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCytokines may play an important role in pathogenesis of prostatitis. The results indicate that the expression of cytokines (IL-2, IL-8, IL-10) in EPS can serve as a valuable marker for the diagnosis of CP.