title: Chemokines in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with meningitis.
abstract: Meningitis is accompanied by a differential immigration of leukocytes into the subarachnoid space. Since the mechanisms regulating leukocyte invasion are still incompletely understood, we studied the release of the neutrophil-attracting alpha-chemokines IL-8 and GRO-alpha and the mononuclear cell-attracting beta-chemokines MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, and RANTES during meningitis. In 48 paired CSF and serum samples from patients hospitalized for meningitic symptoms, high levels of IL-8, GRO-alpha, and MCP-1 were detected in the CSF during bacterial and abacterial meningitis. Elevated chemokine levels were not found in the blood serum samples taken in parallel. The release of MIP-1alpha or RANTES was below detection limits. The IL-8 and GRO-alpha levels significantly correlated with the number of immigrated granulocytes in the CSF of patients with bacterial meningitis. A similar correlation was found when MCP-1 levels and the mononuclear cell count were analyzed in abacterial meningitis. These findings suggest that the local production of the alpha-chemokines IL-8 and GRO-alpha and of the beta-chemokine MCP-1 represents the major chemoattractant stimulus for the differential recruitment of leukocytes into the subarachnoid space during meningitis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology, Phillips-University Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sprenger
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rösler
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tonn
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Braune
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huffmann
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gemsa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018925:Chemokines / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000276:immunology; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016209:Interleukin-8