Serum Cytokine Profiles in Patients with Dengue Fever at the Acute Infection Phase

BACKGROUND: Dengue virus (DENV) is transmitted by mosquito and has been circulating in Guangdong, China, for over 30 years. Dengue infection causes mild to severe disease symptoms in human. Cytokine profiles were suggested to be crucial especially during the acute stage in the dengue infection. AIM: To determine the cytokine profiles at the acute stage in patients with primary or secondary dengue infection in Guangzhou city in the 2014 outbreak. METHODS: We investigated 23 inflammatory cytokines in serum collected from dengue-infected patients and analyzed their correlations with their clinical indexes. RESULTS: The concentrations of CXCL9, IP-10, CXCL11, IL-8, IL-10, and CCL2 in serum were significantly higher in the groups of DENV-infected patients during the first two weeks than those of control group while CCL17 and CXCL5 showed lower expression level in the patients. Among these cytokines, CXCL9, CCL17, and CXCL5 showed statistical difference between the groups of primary and secondary infections. The platelet count and lactate dehydrogenase were correlated with the level of CCL17 and MIP-1α/CXCL5, respectively, in the group of secondary infection. CONCLUSIONS: We determined the cytokine profiles in serum of the patients during the 2014 dengue outbreak. The expression of specific cytokines was associated with the secondary infection.