Evaluation of Serum Interleukin-17, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Levels in Brucellosis Patients Before and After Treatment

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease in humans and animals and is a worldwide public health problem. Changes in inflammatory cytokines levels might be deployed as markers for diagnosing infectious diseases from non-infectious medical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in pediatric brucellosis.

The present case-control study included 40 brucellosis patients and 40 matched healthy controls. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA, and the independent student t-test was used to compare the levels in the brucellosis and healthy group. Serum cytokine levels before and after treatment were compared by the paired samples t-test.

The serum TGF-β level was significantly lower in the patients compared to the control group (90.21 ± 24.44 vs. 125.63 ± 23.28 pg/mL, P<0.nv001), and the serum interleukin-17 level was significantly higher in the case group (83.74 ± 23.57 vs. 25.95 ± 17.80 pg/ml, P<0.001). After treatment, serum IL-17 levels significantly decreased in the case group.

In brucellosis patients, the serum IL-17 levels decreased significantly, whereas TGF-β increased significantly in these patients. Hence, the serum levels of these inflammatory cytokines can be indicators for diagnosing pediatric brucellosis.