title: Serial monitoring of soluble interleukin-2 receptor as a rapid marker of cytomegalovirus infection and response to antiviral therapy.
abstract: Serial sIL-2R serum levels were evaluated as an indicator of cytomegalovirus infection and response to antiviral therapy. All cases of post-transplant CMV infection or disease were studied over a 2.5-year period with serial sIL-2R serum levels monitored daily post-transplant until discharge, during each inpatient admission and with each outpatient laboratory analysis. Mean sIL-2 levels +/- S.E.M. rose from a baseline level of 3662 +/- 321 U/ml to 11657 +/- 3311 U/ml at the time of diagnosis. Serum sIL-2R concentrations were significantly elevated from baseline as early as 14 days prior to diagnosis of CMV. Mean peak sIL-2R levels occurred an average of 4 days after the initiation of ganciclovir therapy and remained significantly elevated for an average of 20 days of treatment. Serum sIL-2R levels in patients with resolved CMV returned to within 20% of baseline after 20 days of therapy. These data support the idea that serial monitoring of sIL-2R serum levels may be useful adjunctively in the diagnosis of CMV as well as determining the response to and duration of antiviral therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center 48109-0364, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muth
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hanto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Munda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hariharan
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: First
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ryckman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Balistreri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2; D015774:Ganciclovir