Kim D S
Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yonsei Med J. 1992 Jun;33(2):183-8. doi: 10.3349/ymj.1992.33.2.183.
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of infancy and early childhood. In spite of extensive studies, the cause of KD is not known. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has manyfold biological functions involved in the immune or inflammatory responses of the host to various stimuli. Here the author investigated whether IL-6 might be responsible for manifestations of KD, such as immunoglobulin hypersecretion, lymphocyte activation and systemic vasculitis. Serum IL-6 levels in KD were determined by ELISA. Usually sera from healthy children contained only negligible levels of IL-6. Serum IL-6 was markedly elevated in all patients with acute KD, which gradually decreased during the course of the disease. Serum IL-6 correlated with serum concentration of C-reactive protein and with serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor level, but did not show any correlation with peak platelet count during subacute phase of the disease. Increased serum IL-6 level did not show any relation to development of coronary aneurysms and dilatation. Further studies will be needed to examine the source and the pathogenetic roles of increased serum IL-6 in KD.
川崎病（KD）是婴幼儿期的一种急性发热性疾病。尽管进行了广泛研究，但KD的病因仍不清楚。白细胞介素6（IL-6）具有多种生物学功能，参与宿主对各种刺激的免疫或炎症反应。在此，作者研究了IL-6是否可能与KD的表现有关，如免疫球蛋白分泌过多、淋巴细胞活化和系统性血管炎。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测定KD患者血清IL-6水平。通常，健康儿童血清中IL-6含量极低。所有急性KD患者血清IL-6均显著升高，在疾病过程中逐渐下降。血清IL-6与血清C反应蛋白浓度及血清可溶性白细胞介素-2受体水平相关，但与疾病亚急性期的血小板峰值计数无相关性。血清IL-6水平升高与冠状动脉瘤和扩张的发生无关。需要进一步研究以探讨KD患者血清IL-6升高的来源及其致病作用。
