Pro–and anti–inflammatory cytokines profiles among Nigerian children infected with Plasmodium falciparum malaria

ObjectiveTo examine array of some pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines, namely, interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-5(IL-5), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations in some Nigerians with falciparum malaria.MethodsSera were obtained from the blood samples of 96 Nigerian children with Plasmodium falciparum infection. The sera were subjected to cytokine evaluation using commercial standard enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits (Abcam, UK).ResultsMean pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum of children with uncomplicated and complicated malaria were IL-5 482.2 pg/mL versus 526.7 pg/mL, IL-6 98.8 pg/mL versus 82.6 pg/mL, IL-12 24.1 pg/mL versus 15.9 pg/mL, TNF-α 107 pg/mL versus 511.7 pg/mL and IFN-γ 2.1 pg/mL versus 2.5 pg/mL. The anti-inflammatory cytokines status of IL-4 were 4.7 pg/mL versus 20.3 pg/mL, and IL-10 were 216 pg/mL versus 143.8 pg/mL in uncomplicated versus complicated/severe malaria cases. Participants with uncomplicated malaria had mean parasitaemia level of 3 158.9 parasites/μL while mean parasitaemia level for participants with complicated malaria was 12 550.5 parasite/μL and this difference was statistically significant (χ2 = 5 614.6, P < 0.05). The difference between mean haemoglobin level for uncomplicated malaria (9.6 g/dL) and severe malaria (3.9 g/dL) was statistically significant (χ2 = 2.3, P < 0.05). The relationship between serum level of IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-4 and ages showed positive correlation at r=0.92, 0.99, 0.86, 0.95 and 0.85, respectively; while IL-5 and TNF-α had negative correlation at r=−0.99 and −0.99, respectively.ConclusionIL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α and IFN-γ are involved in the immunopathology and immunoregulation of uncomplicated and complicated malaria infections. IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-10 depressed in complicated/severe malaria may not provide any protective immunity and may be indicators of poor prognosis in Plasmodium falciparum infected Nigerian children.