Cytokines profiling in patients infected with Chikungunya virus in Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Chikungunya is an arbovirus transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected arthropod, specifically Aedes mosquitoes. In Brazil, the first autochthonous cases were reported in 2014, and the disease has since become endemic in several regions of the country. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum cytokine levels in patients with Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) attended in public hospitals in a state in the Northeast region of Brazil. A total of 744 serum samples from patients were analyzed, and 547 were diagnosed with CHIK by ELISA (IgM-positive). Among these, 409 samples were from female patients and 138 from male patients, comprising 377 adults, 82 elderly individuals, and 88 children and adolescents. Most of the patients resided in urban areas (n= 490; 89.4%). Cytokine quantification was performed on a random subset of 240 samples using flow cytometry with the CBA Human Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine kit. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was identified as the most prevalent cytokine, particularly during the second week following symptom onset. Given that elevated IL-6 levels contribute to a positive feedback loop that exacerbates arthralgia, the detection and quantification of IL-6 may serve as a valuable biomarker for CHIKV diagnosis, prognosis, and severity assessment, as well as guiding clinical management.