Characterization of Cytokine Status of Children with Allergic Diseases

Abstract

The level of production of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α was studied in 73 children aged 6 to 17 years, which fully implement the «atopic march» and at the time of the survey were already suffering from bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis (37 children of Zaporizhya and 36 children from the conditionally environmentally friendly areas of Zaporizhya region). The study found that the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines in the blood of the children surveyed were inconsistent and characterized by a significant between-group variation, namely the performance of IL-6 were significantly lower in children with allergic diseases of the city and the region than in the healthy group: 0.29 (0.23–0.54) pg/ml and 0.26 (0.14–0.40) pg/ml vs 0.60 (0.34–0.97) pg/ml. In children with allergic diseases of environmentally friendly area of Zaporizhya region the lowest level of the PNP-α and the highest level of IL-8 were recorded: 2.97 (2,04–4.64) pg/ml and 46.67 (32.08–53.33) pg/ml vs 5.57 (4.64–6.31) and 16.49 (11.21–25.44) pg/ml in patients from Zaporizhya, indicating the imbalance between pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune system imbalance in this cohort of patients. IL-6, IL-8 and the PNP-α levels in blood serum are important additional immunological factors that may be included into the list of basic laboratory markers that could potentially reflect the degree of inflammatory activity in patients with allergic diseases and the state of their immune system.

Keywords

• allergic diseases, cytokines, children