Changes of serum levels of IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and T cells in children with RMPP

Objective To discuss the significance of changes of serum levels of IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and T cells in children with refractory mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP). Methods A total of 100 children with mycoplasma pneumonia diagnosed and treated in our hospital from July 2017 to June 2018 were selected as the study subjects, including 42 cases of refractory mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP group) and 58 cases of common mycoplasma pneumonia (MPP group). Another 50 healthy children were selected as the control group. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, and T cells of the three groups were detected, and serum levels of IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, and T cells in convalescent children with RMPP were detected. Results The levels of IL-6, IL-4, and TNF-α in RMPP group were (16.2±3.5) pg/ml, (44.8±9.6) pg/ml, (21.5±4.3) pg/ml respectively, which were significantly higher than those in MPP group and control group (P<0.05); the level of IL-10 was (23.5±6.7) pg/ml in RMPP group, which was significantly lower than that in MPP group and control group (P<0.05). The levels of CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ in RMPP group were (31.6±5.0)% and (0.94±0.31), which were significantly lower than those in MPP group and control group (P<0.05); the level of CD8+ was (33.6±6.6)% in RMPP group, which was significantly higher than that in MPP group and control group (P<0.05). The levels of IL-6, IL-4, and TNF-α in convalescent stage of RMPP group were significantly lower than those in acute stage, and the level of IL-10 was significantly higher than that in acute stage (P<0.05). The levels of CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ in convalescent stage of RMPP group were significantly higher than those in acute stage, and the level of CD8+ in convalescent stage was significantly lower than that in acute stage (P<0.05). Conclusions The serum levels of IL-6, IL-4, and TNF-α in children with RMPP increase significantly, the level of IL-10 decreases significantly, the levels of CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ in cellular immune function decrease significantly, and the level of CD8+ increases significantly, which suggest that there is obvious immune dysfunction in children, which may be one of the mechanisms leading to the development of refractory mycoplasma pneumonia in children. Key words: Interleukin-6; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Cellular immunity; Refractory mycoplasma pneumonia