Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Viral Immunol. 2010 Feb;23(1):113-7. doi: 10.1089/vim.2009.0077.
Chikungunya virus infection has recently emerged in several countries. The inflammatory response is suggested to be involved in the pathology observed in this infectious disease. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is an inducer of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production and has been shown to play a role in several inflammatory diseases. IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) is a natural regulator of IL-18. In this study, we determined the levels of IL-18 and IL-18BP in patients with Chikungunya virus infection. Acute and convalescent sera were collected from each patient. The levels of both IL-18 and IL-18BP were measured by ELISA assays. IL-18 and IL-18BP levels were higher in patients than in controls. In addition, the level of IL-18 was higher in convalescent than in acute sera. However, the level of IL-18BP was lower in convalescent than in acute sera. These data suggest that production of both IL-18 and IL-18BP was induced following Chikungunya virus infection. IL-18BP was increased to regulate the activity of IL-18. The ratio of IL-18 to IL-18BP was higher in convalescent than in acute sera. The lower level of IL-18BP in convalescent sera was probably due to loss following IL-18 neutralization. Our data suggest that Chikungunya virus infection promotes the T helper-1 (Th-1) response by inducing IL-18 production. Manipulation of IL-18 and IL-18BP levels could be a promising therapeutic approach to alleviate symptoms in patients with Chikungunya virus infection.
基孔肯雅热病毒感染最近在多个国家出现。炎症反应被认为与这种传染病的病理学有关。白细胞介素-18 (IL-18) 是干扰素-γ (IFN-γ) 产生的诱导剂，并已被证明在几种炎症性疾病中发挥作用。白细胞介素-18 结合蛋白 (IL-18BP) 是白细胞介素-18 的天然调节剂。在这项研究中，我们测定了基孔肯雅热病毒感染患者的白细胞介素-18 和白细胞介素-18 结合蛋白水平。从每位患者采集急性和恢复期血清。通过 ELISA 测定法测定 IL-18 和 IL-18BP 的水平。患者的 IL-18 和 IL-18BP 水平高于对照组。此外，恢复期血清中的 IL-18 水平高于急性期血清。然而，恢复期血清中的 IL-18BP 水平低于急性期血清。这些数据表明，基孔肯雅热病毒感染后诱导了 IL-18 和 IL-18BP 的产生。IL-18BP 增加以调节 IL-18 的活性。恢复期血清中 IL-18 与 IL-18BP 的比值高于急性期血清。恢复期血清中 IL-18BP 水平较低可能是由于 IL-18 中和后丢失。我们的数据表明，基孔肯雅热病毒感染通过诱导 IL-18 产生来促进辅助性 T 细胞 1 (Th-1) 反应。IL-18 和 IL-18BP 水平的操纵可能是减轻基孔肯雅热病毒感染患者症状的一种有前途的治疗方法。
