ABSTRACT
Objective: to determine the levels of interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] gene transcription and protein expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] of children with bacterial and viral infectious diarrhea
Study Design: an observational study
Place and Duration of Study: department of Pediatrics, Pingyi County People's Hospital of Shandong province, Pingyi, China, from January 2017 to February 2018
Methodology: children with bacterial diarrhea and children with viral diarrhea were assigned to respective bacterial and viral infection groups. The serum IL-6, TNF-alpha levels in the two groups were detected by ELISA. PBMCs were collected from study subjects, and mRNA transcription expression level of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in PBMCs of the two groups were determined by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] technique, and IL-6 and TNF-alpha protein expression levels in PBMCs of the two groups were determined by Western blot analysis
Results: in a total of 50 children with bacterial diarrhea and 70 with viral diarrhea, the levels of serum IL-6, PBMCs IL-6 mRNA transcription and IL-6 protein expression were higher in the viral infection group than in the bacterial infection group [all p<0.001]. The level of serum TNF-alpha and PBMCs TNF-alpha mRNA transcription and TNF-alpha protein expression were higher in the bacterial infection group than in the viral infection group [all p<0.001]
Conclusion: when it is difficult to clinically identify the pathogeny of pediatric diarrhea infection, adjuvant diagnosis can be made by virtue of IL-6 and TNF-alpha changes in the blood to choose the correct treatment