Relationship of thrombopoietin and interleukin-11 levels to thrombocytopenia associated with dengue disease

• Published in: Cytokine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 155 - 160
• Main Authors: Cardier, Jose E., Balogh, Valeria, Perez-Silva, Carlos, Romano, Egidio, Rivas, Betty, Bosch, Norma, Rothman, Alan L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2006
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Dengue; Dengue - blood; Dengue - immunology; Female; Humans; IL-11; Interleukin-11 - blood; Interleukin-11 - immunology; Male; Middle Aged; Severe Dengue - blood; Severe Dengue - immunology; Thrombocytopenia; Thrombocytopenia - blood; Thrombocytopenia - immunology; Thrombopoietin; Thrombopoietin - blood; Thrombopoietin - immunology; TPO; Thrombocytopenia; TPO; IL-11; Dengue; Thrombopoietin
• ISSN: 1043-4666; 1096-0023
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2006.04.002

Thrombocytopenia is one of the main clinical findings of dengue. In this work we examined the levels of thrombopoietin (TPO) and interleukin-11 (IL-11), two of the most potent regulators of platelet production, in serum from 28 patients with dengue fever (DF). Patients with DF had increased levels of TPO, compared with healthy individuals ( p < 0.005). Patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF, n = 7), the more severe form of dengue, had higher TPO levels than patients with DF ( p < 0.001). Serum TPO levels and platelet counts were inversely correlated in both DF and DHF patients. IL-11 was detectable in neither DF nor DHF patients. Our results demonstrate that thrombocytopenia in dengue disease is associated with changes in the serum levels of TPO, but not IL-11, suggesting that this cytokine could be a potential early clinical marker of the severity of dengue disease.