Serum cytokine profiling reveals different immune response patterns during general and severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is an important human pathogen that mainly affects children causing general and severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (G/SMPP). In the present study, a comprehensive immune response data (33 cytokines) was obtained in school-age children (3–9 years old) during MPP, aiming to analyze the immune response patterns during MPP. At acute phase, changes of cytokines were both detected in GMPP (24/33) and SMPP (23/33) groups compared to the healthy group (p < 0.05), with 20 identical cytokines. Between MPP groups, the levels of 13 cytokines (IL-2, IL-10, IL-11, IL-12, IL-20, IL-28A, IL-32, IL-35, IFN-α2, IFN-γ, IFN-β, BAFF, and TSLP) were higher and three cytokines (LIGHT, OPN and CHI3L1) were lower in the SMPP group than in the GMPP group (p < 0.05). Function analysis reveals that macrophage function (sCD163, CHI3L1) are not activated in both MPP groups; difference in regulatory patterns of T cells (IL26, IL27, OPN, LIGHT) and defective activation of B cells (BAFF) were detected in the SMPP group compared to the GMPP group. Besides, the level of osteocalcin; sIL-6Rβ and MMP-2 are both decreased in MPP groups at acute and convalescent phases compared to the healthy group, among which the levels of sIL-6Rβ and MMP-2 showed negative correlations (p < 0.1) to the application of bronchial lavage in SMPP group, indicating their roles in the development of MPP. At the convalescent phase, more cytokines recovered in GMPP (18) than SMPP (11), revealing better controlled immune response during GMPP. These results reveal different immune response patterns during GMPP and SMPP. In addition, the differentiated cytokines may serve as potential indicators of SMPP; early intervention on immune response regulations may be helpful in reducing the severity of SMPP.

A comparative study of general and severe mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children

“…Serum concentration of IL-6 could potentially indicate the severity and outcomes of MPP [26]. Our results were similar to those of Zhang et al, with the levels of IL-2, IL-10 and IFN-γ being higher in the SMPP group than in the GMPP group (p<.05) [27]. IFN-γ is one of the major cytokines involved in the inflammatory response after M. pneumoniae infection and can increase macrophage pneumoniae infection, IL-8 was also detected.…”

“…In the present study, we observed the elevated serum concentrations of INF-γ, IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 in patients with SMPP. ILs are a class of cytokines produced by a various of cells that play important regulatory roles in the immune system and have been implicated in the development and progression of MPP [25][26][27]. In severe pneumonia, immune cells in the lungs (e.g., macrophages and neutrophils) release interleukins, leading to an enhanced inflammatory response.…”

Integrative study of pulmonary microbiome, transcriptome and clinical outcomes in Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

“…Transcriptome sequencing of neutrophils from the peripheral blood of children with MPP further confirmed the role of neutrophils, particularly neutrophil extracellular trap formation, in MPP [ 16 ]. Cytokines play critical roles in the pathogenesis of MPP, and cytokine storms are associated with MPP severity [ 31 , 32 ]. Most hub genes in the key module that expressed cytokines or chemokines and their receptors, such as IL1B, CXCL8, CCL20, CXCR2, CXCL1 , and CCRL2 , were increased in CMPP, and had a high predictive value for CMPP.…”

Macrolide resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in several regions of China from 2013 to 2019

“…The pathogenic mechanism of M. pneumoniae is complex and includes multiple aspects such as direct damage, toxin damage, and immune damage [ 22 ]. Although there are no studies showing that drug-resistant strains are directly correlated with clinical manifestation, it is shown that the rapid and massive multiplication of M. pneumoniae in the alveoli could cause direct tissue damage and blood exposure, which stimulates the body’s immune response, contributing to neutrophil and cytokine expression, which may in turn exacerbate the disease [ 23 , 24 ]. Children infected with resistant strains transferring antibiotics to tetracyclines or fluoroquinolones could significantly shorten the length of hospitalization and fever duration [ 25 , 26 ], and it is important to use glucocorticoids promptly to modulate immunity [ 27 ].…”