Immunological and cytokine profile (IL-25 and IL-35) in patients with infection in Southern Iraq.

Amoebiasis is an intestinal disease caused by a unicellular parasite called . Interleukin-35 (IL-35) is the youngest specific member of the IL-12 family that plays a major role in the inhibitory function of regulatory T cells (Tregs) to curb inflammatory responses. IL-25 of the IL-17 family, which is widely released by Th2 cells and epithelial cells, is a warning signal produced upon cell or tissue injury to activate immune cells. The present study aimed to determine the cytokine profile (IL-25 and IL-35) in patients with infection in southern Iraq. This hospital-based study was conducted from August 2022 to May 2023. The study participants were patients with infection admitted to the infection department of general hospitals in Thi-qar province, southern Iraq. Initially, amebiasis was detected in the patients by nested multiplex PCR. All collected sera were tested with the Human Interleukin 35 (Biotech, China, Cat.RD-IL35-Hu) and IL25 (Biotech, China, Cat.RD-IL25-Hu) ELISA kits according to the instructions of the manufacturer. A total of 80 patients, including 50 patients with infection and 30 subjects in the control group without infection, were enrolled in the present study. The results showed a significant difference (p<0.001) in the serum level of IL-25 in patients with infection (4275.19 pg/mL) compared to individuals in the control group without infection (2186 pg/mL). Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the serum levels of IL-35 patients with infection compared with individuals in the control group without infection. The results of the present study show that the level of IL-25 is high in patients with infection. This indicates the important role of IL-25 in the activation of the immune system during intestinal inflammation. Therefore, this cytokine can be used as a diagnostic marker for infection.