Serum cytokine and chemokine profiles in neonates with meconium aspiration syndrome.

OBJECTIVES

Various inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are thought to be associated with the pathophysiology of meconium aspiration syndrome. To clarify any such association, we compared various serum cytokine and chemokine profiles in patients with and without meconium aspiration syndrome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Using a highly sensitive fluorescence microsphere method, 17 types of cytokines and chemokines in sera were measured in 11 neonatal patients with meconium aspiration syndrome, 16 neonatal patients without meconium aspiration syndrome, and 9 healthy children.

RESULTS

The concentrations of 8 types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were significantly higher in the meconium aspiration syndrome group than in healthy controls: interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-gamma, macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Six types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were significantly higher in the meconium aspiration syndrome group than in the nonmeconium aspiration syndrome group: interleukin-6, interleukin-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Serum concentrations of interleukin-10 (anti-inflammatory cytokine) in the meconium aspiration syndrome group were higher than those in both the nonmeconium aspiration syndrome group and healthy children group (P = .007 and 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Most types of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in sera of neonates with meconium aspiration syndrome were higher than those without meconium aspiration syndrome, giving support to the suggestion that elevated levels are associated with the pathogenesis of meconium aspiration syndrome.