CYTOKINE-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES AND DENGUE INFECTION SEVERITY

摘要

Dengue virus (DENV) can produce a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from mild severity to a severe form with plasma leakage and shock. The mechanism underlying the increased disease severity is not fully understood. However, it is thought to be mediated by various host factors, particularly cytokine-related gene expression. This study aimed to elucidate the cellular gene responses to dengue infection at the transcriptional level and to correlate expression levels with disease activity. Patients with confirmed dengue infection and controls were enrolled during a calendar year at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes and was analyzed on the day of defervescence. The mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1 beta and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were assayed in 30 children with DF, 19 children with DHF and 10 unaffected controls by real time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A level of p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. All expression data were analyzed using the Q-gene software. IL-8 and IL-1 beta mRNA levels were not significantly different between children with DF and DHF, but those with DHF had significantly higher levels of MMP-9 mRNA. MMP-9 might have an important role in dengue pathogenesis. To gain further insight into the pathogenesis of dengue disease severity, serial transcription profiling of additional selected genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) might serve as a predictor of dengue infection as well as disease activity.