engleski

Role of the IL-2 receptors in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)

IL-2 is a potent immunoregulatory cytokine with pleiotropic activities. Binding of IL-2 to its receptor (CD25) results in rapid internalisation of the ligand-receptor complexes followed by many of cellular consequences. The soluble IL-2 receptor (IL-2sR-alpha) represents the extracellular chain which is spontaneously released by activated T lymphocytes. HFRS is the designation for a group of illnesses caused by viruses belonging to the genus Hantavirus. Still little is known about the pathogenesis of HFRS. During the HFRS outbreak in 1995, we were looking for immunophenotypic changes in the main lymphocyte populations and activation markers in 22 HFRS patients. We used EIA-test (Quantikine, R&D Systems Inc., UK) for the detection of IL-2, IL-2sR-alpha, IL-6 and IL-6sR in sera of HFRS patients. The aim of this study was to look for possible role of the IL-2 receptors in the pathogenesis of HFRS. We found increased percentages of lymphcytes which expressed CD25 and elevated serum levels of IL-2sR-alpha in comparison to healthy controls (p<0.01). In 19/22 patients, we found that CD25 in mainly expressed on CD4+ T lymphocytes (r=0.92, p<0.0001). CD25 was in positive correlation with total serum concentration of IL-2sR-alpha (r=0.64, p=0.003) and IL-6 (r=0.48, p=0.04). In 18/22 patients we found positive correlation with aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (r=0.69, p=0.001) which could be caused by acute renal disorders, but also as a result of acute hemolitic anemia and virus replication in the liver. CD25 showed negative correlation with the platelet's number (r=-0.54, p=0.02). In HFRS, trombocytopnia is one of the parameters for the illness severity. IL-2sR-alpha showed a positive correlation with CD25, IL-6 (r=0.43, p=0.05), AST (r=0.78, p<0.0001), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (r=0.57, p=0.007) and hemoglobin (r=0.53, p=0.01). We could conclude that IL-2 receptors correlate with the parameters of disease activity. the measurement of either CD25 or serum levels of the soluble IL-2 receptor, may be clinically useful in the prognosis and management of HFRS patients.

immunophenotiping; flow cytometry; CD25; AST; ALT

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