Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Brucellosis remains endemic across the Middle East, including Iraq, yet the immunological correlates of disease activity in acute human infection remain incompletely characterized in this region.
This short communication reports serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in 40 patients with serologically and culture-confirmed acute brucellosis compared with 30 healthy controls at the college of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
Serum IL-6 and TNF-α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Both cytokines were significantly elevated in patients relative to controls (IL-6: 38.6 ± 9.4 pg/mL vs. 6.2 ± 2.1 pg/mL, p < 0.001; TNF-α: 24.3 ± 6.1 pg/mL vs. 8.7 ± 2.4 pg/mL, p < 0.001), and both correlated positively with C-reactive protein (IL-6: r = 0.61, p < 0.001; TNF-α: r = 0.54, p < 0.001). These findings support a proinflammatory Th1-skewed cytokine signature in acute brucellosis and suggest that serum IL-6 and TNF-α may serve as accessible adjunct immunological markers of disease activity in this endemic setting.
Keywords
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2026 Sawsan Mohmmed Kareem*, Ammar Abbas Shalan, Iman Ghanim ALRakh, Vikramsinh Bapurao (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
- Mohamed T, Yahya NB. Epidemiological analysis of childhood brucellosis in Duhok, Iraq: a retrospective observational study from 2018 to 2021. Cureus. 2024;16(7):e64934. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.64934
- Oliveira SC. Host immune responses and pathogenesis to Brucella spp. infection. Pathogens. 2021;10(3):288. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030288
- Zheng R, Xie S, Zhang Q, Cao L, Niyazi S, Lu X, et al. Circulating Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg, and PD-1 levels in patients with brucellosis. J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:3783209. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3783209
- Demirdag K, Ozden M, Kalkan A, Godekmerdan A, Kilic SS. Serum cytokine levels in patients with acute brucellosis and their relation to the traditional inflammatory markers. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2003;39(2):149-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0928-8244(03)00207-4
- Akbulut H, Celik I, Akbulut A. Cytokine levels in patients with brucellosis and their relations with the treatment. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2007;25(4):387-90. https://doi.org/10.4103/0255-0857.37345
- Tang Y, Ma C, Sun H, Yang S, Yu F, Li X, et al. Serum levels of seven general cytokines in acute brucellosis before and after treatment. Infect Drug Resist. 2021;14:5501-10. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S341331
- Lin ZQ, Lin GY, He WW, Zhang C, Zhang R, Li YD, et al. IL-6 and INF-γ levels in patients with brucellosis in severe epidemic region, Xinjiang, China. Infect Dis Poverty. 2020;9(1):47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-020-00666-7
- Slaats J, ten Oever J, van de Veerdonk FL, Netea MG. IL-1β/IL-6/CRP and IL-18/ferritin: distinct inflammatory programs in infections. PLoS Pathog. 2016;12(12):e1005973. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005973
- Navarro JM, Mendoza J, Leiva J, Rodríguez-Contreras R, de la Rosa M. C-reactive protein as a prognostic indicator in acute brucellosis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 1990;13(3):269-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/0732-8893(90)90071-3
- Noor K, Sami H, Khan PA, Sabir AB, Jilani LZ, Ahmad H, et al. Serum cytokine profiles and inflammatory markers in brucellosis-associated arthritis: a cross sectional study. Zoonotic Dis. 2026;6(2):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/zoonoticdis6020016
References
Mohamed T, Yahya NB. Epidemiological analysis of childhood brucellosis in Duhok, Iraq: a retrospective observational study from 2018 to 2021. Cureus. 2024;16(7):e64934. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.64934
Oliveira SC. Host immune responses and pathogenesis to Brucella spp. infection. Pathogens. 2021;10(3):288. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030288
Zheng R, Xie S, Zhang Q, Cao L, Niyazi S, Lu X, et al. Circulating Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg, and PD-1 levels in patients with brucellosis. J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:3783209. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3783209
Demirdag K, Ozden M, Kalkan A, Godekmerdan A, Kilic SS. Serum cytokine levels in patients with acute brucellosis and their relation to the traditional inflammatory markers. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2003;39(2):149-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0928-8244(03)00207-4
Akbulut H, Celik I, Akbulut A. Cytokine levels in patients with brucellosis and their relations with the treatment. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2007;25(4):387-90. https://doi.org/10.4103/0255-0857.37345
Tang Y, Ma C, Sun H, Yang S, Yu F, Li X, et al. Serum levels of seven general cytokines in acute brucellosis before and after treatment. Infect Drug Resist. 2021;14:5501-10. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S341331
Lin ZQ, Lin GY, He WW, Zhang C, Zhang R, Li YD, et al. IL-6 and INF-γ levels in patients with brucellosis in severe epidemic region, Xinjiang, China. Infect Dis Poverty. 2020;9(1):47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-020-00666-7
Slaats J, ten Oever J, van de Veerdonk FL, Netea MG. IL-1β/IL-6/CRP and IL-18/ferritin: distinct inflammatory programs in infections. PLoS Pathog. 2016;12(12):e1005973. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005973
Navarro JM, Mendoza J, Leiva J, Rodríguez-Contreras R, de la Rosa M. C-reactive protein as a prognostic indicator in acute brucellosis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 1990;13(3):269-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/0732-8893(90)90071-3
Noor K, Sami H, Khan PA, Sabir AB, Jilani LZ, Ahmad H, et al. Serum cytokine profiles and inflammatory markers in brucellosis-associated arthritis: a cross sectional study. Zoonotic Dis. 2026;6(2):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/zoonoticdis6020016