Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) as a predictor of outcome in brucellosis

• Published in: The Journal of infection Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 206 - 210
• Main Authors: Makis, Alexandros C., Galanakis, Emmanouil, Hatzimichael, Eleftheria C., Papadopoulou, Zoe L., Siamopoulou, Antigone, Bourantas, Konstantinos L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anti-Infective Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Infective Agents - therapeutic use; Bacterial diseases; Biological and medical sciences; Brucella; Brucellosis; Brucellosis - drug therapy; Brucellosis - microbiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infant; Infectious diseases; Interleukin-2 - blood; Interleukin-2 receptor; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Predictive Value of Tests; Receptors, Interleukin-2 - blood; Rifampin - administration & dosage; Rifampin - therapeutic use; Solubility; Treatment Outcome; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination - administration & dosage; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination - therapeutic use; Brucellosis; Interleukin-2 receptor; Infection; Prognosis; Interleukin 2; Bacteriosis; Serum; Predictive factor
• ISSN: 0163-4453; 1532-2742
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2004.10.013

Brucellosis is characterized by chronicity and relapses despite efficacious treatment. Cytokines and especially the Th1/Th2 balance may be involved in the susceptibility or resistance to the Brucella species. In order to identify predictors of treatment outcome, we measured the pre and posttreatment levels of serum interleukin-2 (IL-2) and soluble IL-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) in 20 children with brucellosis. All children were treated for 6 weeks and three of them (15%) presented with a relapse at 2, 3 and 8 months after treatment had ended. Serum IL-2 levels, both pretreatment and posttreatment, did not significantly differ between patients and controls. By contrast, pretreatment sIL-2Rα levels were significantly higher in patients ( P≤0.0001) than in controls. sIL-2Rα levels significantly declined ( P<0.001) after the 6-week antibiotic regimen in the 17 children who subsequently had a good outcome without relapses, but not in the three patients who relapsed. A decline in serum sIL-2Rα levels might be used as a marker of treatment efficacy in brucellosis.