Gene Transcript Abundance Profiles Distinguish Kawasaki Disease from Adenovirus Infection

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 2009-08, Vol.200 (4), p.657-666
• Main Authors: Popper, Stephen J., Watson, Virginia E., Shimizu, Chisato, Kanegaye, John T., Burns, Jane C., Relman, David A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenoviridae infections; Adenovirus; Adenovirus Infections, Human - diagnosis; Adenovirus Infections, Human - virology; B lymphocytes; B-Lymphocytes - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Case-Control Studies; Cell Adhesion; Child; Coronary vessels; Diseases; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Infections; Infectious diseases; Interferons - metabolism; Kawasaki Disease; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome - diagnosis; RNA; RNA, Viral; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/603538

BackgroundAcute Kawasaki disease (KD) is difficult to distinguish from other illnesses that involve acute rash or fever, in part because the etiologic agent(s) and pathophysiology remain poorly characterized. As a result, diagnosis and critical therapies may be delayed MethodsWe used DNA microarrays to identify possible diagnostic features of KD. We compared gene expression patterns in the blood of 23 children with acute KD and 18 age-matched febrile children with 3 illnesses that resemble KD ResultsGenes associated with platelet and neutrophil activation were expressed at higher levels in patients with KD than in patients with acute adenovirus infections or systemic adverse drug reactions, but levels in patients with KD were not higher than those in patients with scarlet fever. Genes associated with B cell activation were also expressed at higher levels in patients with KD than in control subjects. A striking absence of interferon-stimulated gene expression in patients with KD was confirmed in an independent cohort of patients with KD. Using a set of 38 gene transcripts, we successfully predicted the diagnosis for 21 of 23 patients with KD and 7 of 8 patients with adenovirus infection ConclusionsThese findings provide insight into the molecular features that distinguish KD from other febrile illnesses and support the feasibility of developing novel diagnostic reagents for KD based on the host response