Clinical value of IL-12 and NK cell in detecting chlidren hand-foot-mouth disease

Objective To investigate the changes of immunity in children with hand-foot and mouth disease (HFMD) by measuring the level of interleukin 12(IL-12) and natural killer (NK) cell in peripheral blood.Methods The children with HFMD were divided into mild group and severe group according to clinical manifestations and the healthy children were enrolled as a control in the study.The percentage of CD16+ CD56+ cells in peripheral blood of the children were determined by fluorescence flow cytometry.The level of IL-12 in serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results Before treatment,the severe group showed significant increase in the level of IL-12 (P0.01,P0.05) comparing to those of the mild group and the control group,but there was no significant difference in the percentage of CD16+ CD56+ cells.After treatment,the percentage of CD16+ CD56+ cells and the level of IL-12 in the severe group were significantly decreased (P0.05) compared to the same group before treatment.Conclusion The levels of IL-12 and NK cells in peripheral blood change following with immune dysfunction in HFMD children,the changes in the levels of IL-12 and NK cells in HFMD children show a potential value of clinical diagnosis and treatment.