Detection of interleukin-8, matrix metalloproteinase-9 and interferon gamma levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis and viral meningitis

Objective To investigate the diagnostic values of interleukin-8 (IL-8), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and interferon gamma (INF-γ) levels in patients with tuberculous meningitis and viral meningitis by detecting the contents of these biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Methods Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of IL-8,MMP-9 and INF-γ in the CSF of patients with tuberculous meningitis (n=20),viral meningitis (n=15) and noninfectious neurologic diseases (n=20) who admitted to our hospital from August 2010 to November 2011. Results The IL-8,MMP-9 and INF-γlevels in the samples from the tuberculous meningitis patients were significantly higher than those from either viral meningitis or noninfectious neurologic diseases (P＜0.05).The contents of IL-8 and MMP-9 in patients with viral meningitis were significantly higher than those in patients with noninfectious neurologic diseases (P＜0.05),while that of INF-γ showed no significant difference between the 2 groups (P＞0.05). Conclusion Detection of IL-8,MMP-9 and INF-γ in CSF is useful in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis; IL-8 and MMP-9 participate in the progress of viral meningitis; the detective value of high concentration of INF-γ in CSF is more significant in diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis than that of IL-8 and MMP-9. Key words: Tuberculous meningitis;  Viral meningitis;  Cerebrospinal fluid;  Interleukin-8;  Matrix metalloproteinase-9;  Interferon-γ