Evaluation of Serum Interleukin-17, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Levels in Brucellosis Patients Before and After Treatment

Abstract

Introduction:Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease in humans and animals and is a worldwide public health problem. Changes in inflammatory cytokines levels might be deployed as markers for diagnosing infectious diseases from noninfectious medical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and transforming growth factorbeta (TGF-β) in pediatric brucellosis. Methods: The present case-control study included 40 brucellosis patients and 40 matched healthy controls. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA, and the independent student t-test was used to compare the levels in the brucellosis and healthy group. Serum cytokine levels before and after treatment were compared by the paired samples t-test. Results: The serum TGF-β level was significantly lower in the patients compared to the control group (90.21 ± 24.44 vs. 125.63 ± 23.28 pg/mL, P<0.nv001), and the serum interleukin-17 level was significantly higher in the case group (83.74 ± 23.57 vs. 25.95 ± 17.80 pg/ml, P<0.001). After treatment, serum IL-17 levels significantly decreased in the case group. Conclusion:In brucellosis patients, the serum IL-17 levels decreased significantly, whereas TGF-β increased significantly in these patients. Hence, the serum levels of these inflammatory cytokines can be indicators for diagnosing pediatric brucellosis.