Anti-mycobacterial treatment reduces high plasma levels of CXC-chemokines detected in active tuberculosis by cytometric bead array

Chemokines recruit and activate leukocytes, assisting granuloma formation. Herein, we evaluated plasma chemokines in patients with active tuberculosis (ATB) and after completing treatment (TTB) and compared them to BCG-vaccinated healthy controls (HC). Levels of chemokines were measured by cytometric bead array. Levels of CXCL8, CXCL9 and CXCL10 were higher in ATB patients compared to HC, but they decreased in TTB. Levels of CCL2 and CCL5 in ATB patients were similar to those observed in HC. Thus, the high levels of CXC-chemokines detected during ATB, which can modulate the trafficking of immune cells from the periphery to the site of infection, were reversed by anti-mycobacterial treatment.

Chemokines in Kawasaki disease: measurement of CCL2, CCL22 and CXCL10.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a childhood-onset vascular disease. In order to determine whether KD is associated with altered chemokine production, we measured CCL2, CCL22, and CXCL10 levels in the serum of KD patients and healthy control subjects. The mean serum concentration of CCL2 in KD subjects was 829.0 +/- 388.2 pg/ml, significantly higher than that seen in healthy controls (223.4 +/- 92.6 pg/ml; p < 0.001). In addition, the mean serum CXCL10 level in KD subjects was 2,469.4 +/- 998.8 pg/ml, again significantly higher than that in healthy controls (127.7 +/- 64.2 pg/ml; p < 0.001). No difference was observed in serum concentrations of CCL22 between KD and healthy controls (1,685 +/- 1,985 microg/ml and 1,539 +/- 380 microg/ml, respectively). Thus, we observed the selective induction of a TH1-associated (CXCL10) and a TH2-associated chemokine (CCL2) in the serum of individuals with KD, suggesting a mixed TH1/TH2 response at the level of chemokine production and subsequent cell recruitment and thus pointing at a potential role for these chemokines in the pathology of KD.