Dynamic changes in blood cytokine levels as clinical indicators in severe acute respiratory syndrome

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes observed in serum levels of interleukins (ILs), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients.Methods Sixty-one cases of SARS with positive antibodies to SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) were classified into the following categories: initial stage (3 -7 days), peak stage (8 -14 days), and remission and recovery stage (15 -27 days). Forty-four healthy individuals were used as controls.Serum levels of ILs, TNF-α and TGF-β1 were measured in all subjects. Serum antibodies to SARS-CoV were detected only in SARS cases.Results The mean concentration of serum IL- 6 in SARS patients did not differ from that in thecontrol group in initial and peak stages, but became significantly higher in remission and recoverystage compared with the control group, initial and peak stages ( P