title: Systemic inflammatory responses in African tick-bite fever.
abstract: Information regarding the inflammatory response in African tick-bite fever (ATBF), an emerging spotted-fever-group rickettsiosis, in international travelers to sub-Saharan Africa, is scarce. Plasma/serum levels of von Willebrand factor (vWF), soluble (s) E-selectin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, interferon-gamma, IL-10, IL-13, IL-8, RANTES, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, and C-reactive protein were studied, at both first presentation and follow-up, in 15 patients with travel-associated ATBF and in 14 healthy travelers who served as control subjects. Our main and novel findings are the following: (1) patients with ATBF had increased levels of vWF and sE-selectin, with a subsequent decrease at follow-up; (2) with the exception of IFN-gamma, levels of cytokines and chemokines were also increased in these patients at the first presentation; and (3) IL-10 and IL-13 tended to increase during follow-up, whereas most of the inflammatory cytokines decreased. The induction of these mediators and the balance between them may be critical both for the regulation of inflammation and for protective immunity in ATBF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. mogens.jensenius@ioks.uio.no
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jensenius
authors.forename: Thor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueland
authors.forename: Pierre-Edouard
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brosstad
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stylianou
authors.forename: Sirkka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vene
authors.forename: Bjørn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Myrvang
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aukrust
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000502:physiology; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology; D014195:Travel; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D019040:E-Selectin; D014841:von Willebrand Factor