Pro-inflammatory cytokine profile of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in central hospital, Agbor Nigeria

Background: The aim is to determine the pattern of cytokines secretion by assessing interleukins (IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 146 consecutive (54 males and 92 females) sputum positive for tuberculosis and 38 apparently healthy age- and sex-matched sputum negative for tuberculosis as control were recruited between May 2016 and June 2017. A volume of 5 mL of blood samples was collected for the determination of serum IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α using the ELISA method. Results: There was a higher cytokine mean ± standard error of the mean for tuberculosis subjects (95.77 ± 6.68 pg/mL; 107.54 ± 14.76 pg/mL, 122.09 ± 16.55 pg/ml) and controls (79.88 ± 3.53 pg/ml; 78.35 ± 6.82 pg/ml; 94.11 ± 14.08 pg/ml) for interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and TNF-α, respectively, when compared. There was strong correlation between mean values of IL-6 and TNF-α (r = 0.72315, P < 0.05). There was significance difference (P < 0.05) observed in the mean serum concentrations of cytokines among the genders (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed that IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α are important biological markers for tuberculosis disease.