Cerebrospinal-fluid cytokine and chemokine profile in patients with pneumococcal and meningococcal meningitis

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases 2013-07, Vol.13 (1), p.326-326, Article 326
• Main Authors: Coutinho, Leonam G, Grandgirard, Denis, Leib, Stephen L, Agnez-Lima, Lucymara F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Blood; Cerebrospinal fluid; Chemokines; Child; Child, Preschool; Cytokines; Cytokines - cerebrospinal fluid; Development and progression; Disease; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-positive bacteria; Hospitals; Humans; Immune response; Ligands; Meningitis; Meningitis, Meningococcal - cerebrospinal fluid; Meningitis, Pneumococcal - cerebrospinal fluid; Middle Aged; Mortality; Neisseria meningitidis; Pathogenesis; Patients; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Streptococcus infections; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2334-13-326

Bacterial meningitis is characterized by an intense inflammatory reaction contributing to neuronal damage. The aim of this study was to obtain a comparative analysis of cytokines and chemokines in patients with pneumococcal (PM) and meningococcal meningitis (MM) considering that a clear difference between the immune response induced by these pathogens remains unclear. The cyto/chemokines, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-1Ra, CXCL8/IL-8, CCL2/MCP-1, CLL3/MIP-1α, CCL4/MIP-1γ and G-CSF, were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with PM and MM. Additionally, a literature review about the expression of cytokines in CSF samples of patients with MB was made. Concerning cytokines levels, only IFN-γ was significantly higher in patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae compared to those with Neisseria meningitidis, regardless of the time when the lumbar puncture (LP) was made. Furthermore, when samples were compared considering the timing of the LP, higher levels of TNF-α (P