Objective: To determine the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) 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-α 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-α in PBMCs of the two groups were determined by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, and IL-6 and TNF-α 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-α and PBMCs TNF-α mRNA transcription and TNF-α 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-α changes in the blood to choose the correct treatment.