Ann Lab Med.  2015 Jan;35(1):105-110. 10.3343/alm.2015.35.1.105.

Inflammatory Cytokines and Their Prognostic Ability in Cases of Major Burn Injury

• Hur J
• Yang HT
• Chun W
• Kim JH
• Shin SH
• Kang HJ
• Kim HS

• KMID: 2363156
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2015.35.1.105

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Major burn injuries induce inflammatory responses and changes in the levels of various cytokines. This study was conducted to assess early changes in the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines after burn injury, identify cytokines associated with mortality, and characterize correlations among cytokines.
METHODS
Blood samples of 67 burn patients were collected on days 1 and 3 after burn injury, and the concentrations of 27 cytokines were measured using the Bio-Plex Suspension Array System (Bio-Rad Laboratories, USA). Blood samples of 25 healthy subjects were used as controls. We analyzed statistical differences in the concentrations of each cytokine between the control and patient groups, between day 1 and day 3, and between survival and nonsurvival groups. Correlations among 27 cytokines were analyzed.
RESULTS
Median concentrations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), interleukin 10 (IL-10), interleukin 15 (IL-15), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta (MIP-1beta), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were significantly higher in burn patients than in controls. IL-1RA, IL-6, and MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in the nonsurvival group than in the survival group on day 1 after burn injury. Correlation analysis of 27 cytokines showed different relationships with one another. Stronger correlations among interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-12p70, and IL-17 were found.
CONCLUSIONS
IL-1RA, IL-6, and MCP-1 may be used as prognostic indicators of mortality in burn patients and the increase in cytokine concentrations is induced by interactions within a complex network of cytokine-related pathways.

Keyword

Cytokine; Burn; Inflammation; Mortality

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Burns/*blood/mortality/*pathology
Case-Control Studies
Cytokines/*blood
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Prospective Studies
Survival Rate
Young Adult
Cytokines

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Correlations among 27 cytokines in the serum samples of burn patients (n=134). Correlation coefficients (r) corresponding to significant correlations (P<0.05) are presented. Upper line number in each box indicates correlation coefficient (r) and lower line number indicates P value. Red color indicates the strongest correlation (r>0.8) and green color (0.6

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