title: Urinary cytokines in Schistosoma haematobium-infected schoolchildren from Tana Delta District of Kenya.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pathological changes due to infection with Schistosoma haematobium include cytokine-mediated urinary tract inflammation. The involved cytokines may be excreted in urine and their presence in urine may therefore reflect S. haematobium-related urinary tract pathology. The present study, for the first time, reports on the relationship between selected cytokines in urine and infection with S. haematobium in children from an area highly affected by this parasite.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children aged 5-12 years from two primary schools in Tana Delta District of Kenya were examined for S. haematobium eggs using urine filtration technique, for haematuria using dipstix and for eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), IL-6, IFN- γ, TNF-α and IL-10 levels using ELISA, and for S. haematobium-related urinary tract pathology using ultrasonography. In addition, venous blood was examined for serum IL-6, IFN- γ, TNF-α and IL-10 levels using ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant correlation between urinary and serum levels of IL-6, IFN- γ, TNF-α or IL-10. There was no significant difference in geometric mean intensity (GMI) in any of the serum cytokines, or in urinary TNF-α or IFN-γ, between children with light and heavy S. haematobium infections. However, children with heavy S. haematobium infections had significantly higher GMI of urinary IL-6 (p < 0.001) and lower GMI of urinary IL-10 (p = 0.002) than children with light infections. There was also a significant positive correlation between urinary IL-6 and urinary ECP (p < 0.001) and a significant negative correlation between urinary IL-10 and urinary ECP (p = 0.012).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urinary IL-6 was positively correlated to and IL-10 was negatively correlated to infection intensity and urinary tract inflammation in S. haematobium-infected children. Urinary IL-6 and IL-10 ELISA may be a useful non-invasive tool to complement the already available tools for studying S. haematobium-related urinary tract pathology in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, P,O, Box 19676 - 00202, Nairobi, Kenya. kn@uonbi.ac.ke.
authors.forename: Kariuki H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Njaanake
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: Birgitte J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Vennervald
authors.forename: Dunstan A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Mukoko
authors.forename: Claus M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Reimert
authors.forename: Kimani
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gachuhi
authors.forename: Walter G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Jaoko
authors.forename: Benson B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Estambale
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006417:Hematuria / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000469:parasitology / Q000652:urine*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10