title: Profile of transforming growth factor-beta 1 in patients with dengue haemorrhagic fever.
abstract: The pathogenesis of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is incompletely understood but it has been suggested that various cytokines may have a role in the process. In this study the profile of the cytokine Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1) was investigated in the sera of 79 patients with various grades of dengue illness and in 21 normal healthy controls. Also, TGF-beta1-specific mRNA was examined in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The results showed that neither TGF-beta1 protein nor its mRNA were detected in healthy controls. In dengue patients, the TGF-beta1 protein and its mRNA were detected in 96%. However, among the patient groups, the levels of TGF-beta1 were lowest in patients with dengue fever (DF; mean value 315 +/- 95 pg/ml) and were highest in patients with DHF grade IV (mean value 1350 +/- 280 pg/ml; P = < 0. 001). The cytokine appeared during the first four days of illness (304 +/- 90 pg/ml) and gradually increased, reaching peak levels (1050 +/- 215 pg/ml) after the 9th day of the illness. Thus TGF-beta1 in the sera and TGF-beta1-mRNA in the PBMC were present in most of the patients with dengue (96%) but the cytokine levels were highest during the later periods of illness and in patients with DHF grade IV, suggesting a possible role of TGF-beta1 in the pathogenesis of DHF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, K.G. Medical College, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Elbishbishi
authors.forename: U C
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Chaturvedi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagar
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mustafa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019595:Severe Dengue / Q000097:blood*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta