Serum levels of cytokines in patients envenomed by Tityus serrulatus scorpion sting.
Seventeen patients stung by Tityus serrulatus scorpion were classified as mild (pain at the site of the sting, n = 6), moderate (local pain and one of the following manifestations: vomiting, psychomotor agitation, prostration, sweating, tachypnea, tachycardia and mild arterial hypertension, n = 10) and severe cases (equal moderate cases plus cardiac failure, pulmonary edema and shock, n = 1). Venous blood was sampled for biochemical and hematological analysis and for IL-1alpha, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and GM-CSF ELISAs at the time of hospital admission, 6 h (moderate and severe cases), and 12, 18, 36 and 72 h (severe case) later. Ten age-matched healthy volunteers were used as control. Increased serum levels of IL-1alpha was noticed in all patients, high levels of IL-6, IFN-gamma and GM-CSF were observed only in a patient with severe envenomation. Our data suggest that a systemic inflammatory response-like syndrome is triggered during severe envenomation caused by T. serrulatus sting and that release of cytokines may be involved in this response.
Magalhães
M M
MM
Serviço GEN-CAD and Departamento de Cirurgia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Pereira
M E
ME
Amaral
C F
CF
Rezende
N A
NA
Campolina
D
D
Bucaretchi
F
F
Gazzinelli
R T
RT
Cunha-Melo
J R
JR
D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D007372:Interferons / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000633:toxicity*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*
D016207:Cytokines; D012604:Scorpion Venoms; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D007372:Interferons