The intrathecal expression and pathogenetic role of Th17 cytokines and CXCR2-binding chemokines in tick-borne encephalitis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a clinically variable but potentially severe Flavivirus infection, with the outcome strongly dependent on secondary immunopathology. Neutrophils are present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of TBE patients, but their pathogenetic role remains unknown. In animal models, neutrophils contributed both to the Flavivirus entry into central nervous system (CNS) and to the control of the encephalitis, which we attempted to evaluate in human TBE. METHODS:We analyzed records of 240 patients with TBE presenting as meningitis (n?=?110), meningoencephalitis (n?=?114) or meningoencephalomyelitis (n?=?16) assessing CSF neutrophil count on admission and at follow-up 2 weeks later, and their associations with other laboratory and clinical parameters. We measured serum and CSF concentrations of Th17-type cytokines (interleukin-17A, IL-17F, IL-22) and chemokines attracting neutrophils (IL-8, CXCL1, CXCL2) in patients with TBE (n?=?36 for IL-8, n?=?15 for other), with non-TBE aseptic meningitis (n?=?6) and in non-meningitis controls (n?=?7), using commercial ELISA assays. The results were analyzed with non-parametric tests with p?

SUBMITTER: Grygorczuk S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5909263 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature