Interleukin-8 in Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Meningococcal Disease

Abstract

To evaluate the role of interleukin (IL)-8 in meningococcal disease, a solid-phase double-ligand ELISA was used to quantitate IL-8 in sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with meningococcal meningitis, bacteremia, or both with or without septic shock. IL-8 was demonstrated in sera from 28 of 62 patients; levels were significantly higher in patients with septic shock without meningitis (median, 36.1 ng/ml.) than in patients with other manifestations (median, r= .83) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF; r = .64), while the correlations between corresponding CSF levels were less pronounced (r= .43 and r= .38, respectively) but still significant. Serum IL-8 levelswere highest in patients with a symptom history <12 h. The elimination rate of IL-8 from serum varied and was similar to that ofIL-6 and TNF. IL-8 appears to participate in the complex cytokine network during the initial phase of systemic meningococcal infections.