Increased levels of interleukin-6, -8 and -10 are associated with fatal outcome following severe traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Despite the involvement of cytokine production in neurotrauma, there is still controversy regarding cytokines levels and clinical outcome following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to investigate whether cytokine levels (of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70 and TNF-α) are associated with primary outcome (death or survival) after severe TBI. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 24 male patients, victims of severe TBI. Venous blood samples were taken in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (study entry), 24 and 48 hours later. Plasma cytokine levels were assayed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Severe TBI was associated with a 42% mortality rate. TBI patients had a significant increase in the levels of all cytokines measured, except for IL-1ß, compared to controls. Statistically significant increases in the IL-10, -8 and -6 levels were observed in the non-survivors TBI patients compared to the survivors sub-group measured in the first sample (study entry) and in the subsequent sample (24 hours later). There were no significant differences in IL-1ß, TNF-α and IL-12p70 levels between survivors and non-survivors in any time sampled. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that increased IL-10, -8 and -6 levels may constitute an early predictor of unfavourable outcome in severe TBI patients.

Plasma cytokines levels in aggressive and chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the Th1/Th2 cytokine profile in plasma from healthy controls and different types of periodontitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The concentration of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ was determined in healthy controls (n = 18) and patients with chronic (n = 19) and aggressive periodontitis (n = 19) using a flow cytometric multiplex immunoassay. Means and standard deviations were calculated and compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. Spearman rho coefficient was used to correlate cytokines in the studied groups. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference in the concentration of cytokines between groups, there was a tendency to lower levels of IL-5 and IL-10 in the aggressive periodontitis group. Stronger correlations were observed between IL-2/IL-4 and IL-2/IL-10 in healthy controls (0.938 and 0.669, respectively) compared with chronic (0.746 and 0.532) and aggressive periodontitis groups (0.395 and 0.266). When compared to healthy (0.812) and chronic periodontitis (0.845) groups, the correlation of IL-4/IL-5 was weaker in the aggressive group (0.459). CONCLUSION: No difference between systemic levels of Th1/Th2 was observed. In aggressive periodontitis patients, nevertheless, a trend towards low levels of Th2 cytokines could suggest a contribution to the development of such an exacerbated manifestation of this disease.

Genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are currently considered the most promising type of adult stem cells for therapeutic applications, because they can be easily isolated from the bone marrow and other tissues, and manipulated for different applications. The genetic transformation of MSC using genes that enhance their homing ability, as well as their proliferation and survival capacities when transplanted to sites of injury, is an important alternative to improve MSC function, especially for tissue regeneration. This chapter describes protocols for the transformation of MSC using plasmid vectors by lipofection and electroporation, as well as retroviral vectors representing viral transformations.