Cytokine profile of patients with leptospirosis in Sabah, Malaysia

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with symptoms ranging from a mild, febrile illness to a severe form with multiorgan failure. Severe leptospirosis may require medical interventions in the form of dialysis and/or mechanical ventilation and often leads to mortality. An exaggerated host immune response-in particular, a "cytokine storm"-that causes endothelial and organ damage is associated with the disease severity and mortality.

METHODS: Microscopic agglutination test (MAT)-positive and MAT-negative human serum samples (n=30) from patients with leptospirosis were obtained from the Public Health Laboratory, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and control serum samples (n=10) were obtained from healthy student volunteers. We estimated the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α in serum samples by a Luminex assay.

RESULTS: The levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL1-β were significantly higher in 13% of the patients with leptospirosis compared to the healthy controls, while the levels of IL-10 and TNF-α were not elevated in either group.

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that elevated levels of IL-6, IL- 8, and IL1-β may be associated with leptospirosis disease severity, which requires patient follow-up for confirmation.