Analysis of lymphocyte subgroups in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases 2009-09, Vol.13 (5), p.560-563
• Main Authors: Akıncı, Esragül, Yılmaz, Mesude, Bodur, Hürrem, Öngürü, Pınar, Bayazıt, Fatma Nurhayat, Erbay, Ayşe, Özet, Gülsüm
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Arboviral haemorrhagic fevers; Arboviroses; Biological and medical sciences; CD3 Complex - metabolism; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Flow Cytometry; Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo - immunology; Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - immunology; Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - mortality; Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - physiopathology; Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean - virology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infectious Disease; Infectious diseases; Lymphocyte subgroups; Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pulmonary/Respiratory; RNA, Viral - blood; T lymphocytes; Tropical viral diseases; Turkey - epidemiology; Viral diseases; Viral Load; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2008.08.027

Summary Objectives This study examined the association between lymphocyte subgroups and mortality in patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Turkey. Methods During the spring and summer of 2007, peripheral blood was collected from hospitalized patients with suspected CCHF. Lymphocyte subgroups were characterized by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. CCHF cases were confirmed by detecting viral RNA by PCR and/or IgM antibodies by ELISA. Lymphocyte subgroups were compared between fatal and non-fatal cases. The correlation between lymphocyte subgroups and viral loads was also investigated. Results Seventy-seven confirmed cases of CCHF were included in this study (five cases were fatal (6.5 %)). No differences in lymphocyte subgroups were found between fatal and non-fatal cases, except for significantly higher CD3+CD8+ T cells in the fatal cases ( p = 0.017). A positive correlation between viral load and CD3+CD8+ T cells was also detected ( p = 0.044). There was no correlation between other lymphocyte subgroups and viral load. Conclusions Higher levels of CD3+CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected in fatal compared to non-fatal CCHF cases. Despite this cytotoxic immune activation, a fatal outcome could not be prevented. We hypothesize that high viral load and other factors may influence this outcome, although more studies are required to explain the pathogenesis of CCHF.