Changes of Serum Interleukin-18 Levels in Kawasaki Disease.
- Author:
Gwang Cheon JANG
1
;
Seung Yeon LEE
;
Dong Soo KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Kawasaki disease;
interleukin-18;
TNF-alpha
- MeSH:
Acute-Phase Proteins;
C-Reactive Protein;
Child;
Cytokines;
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay;
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor;
Homicide;
Humans;
Inflammation;
Interleukin-1;
Interleukin-18*;
Interleukin-6;
Interleukins;
Lymphocytes;
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome*;
Receptors, Chemokine;
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
- From:Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease
2001;11(2):130-137
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: Interleukin 18(IL-18) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine which induces IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, TNF-alpha and IL-1, to activate killing by lymphocytes, and to up-regulate the expression of certain chemokine receptors. Kawasaki disease (KD) is an inflammatory disease which increases serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha and IL-6. This study was performed to examine the serum levels of proinflammatory cytokine IL-18 in KD. METHODS: Twenty patients with KD and 10 healthy children were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of IL-18 and TNF-alpha from the patients with acute and subacute stage of KD and normal controls were measured by using ELISA. Acute phase reactants such as ESR and C-reactive protein were measured during the acute stage of the disease. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in serum levels of IL-18 measured at the acute stage of KD(818.0+/-253.4 pg/mL) compared with those of subacute stage (367.7+/-140.1 pg/mL) (P<0.01) and normal controls(348.6+/-122.9 pg/mL)(P<0.01). However, the increase of IL-18 was not correlated with the increase of TNF-alpha(R=-0.156, P=0.488) or other acute phase reactants. CONCLUSION: The results showed that IL-18 was increased during the acute stage of KD, but the increase of IL-18 was not directly correlated with TNF-alpha. This results suggest that Il-18 is not a useful marker to estimate the severity of inflammation in KD.
