A meta-analysis of proinflammatory cytokines in chronic heart failure.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies suggested that inflammation was involved in chronic heart failure (CHF), but their sample sizes were small.


OBJECTIVE
To summarise the clinical cytokine data systematically and emphasise the importance of proinflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of CHF, we conducted a meta-analysis of relevant literatures.


METHODS
Articles about cytokines and CHF were searched in Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Wanfang Database. The pooled effects were measured by weighted mean difference (MD) and 95% CI, which were calculated by RevMan 5.1 software.


RESULTS
Finally, a total of 28 studies were included. Compared with normal control subjects, concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β and C reactive protein (CRP) in the peripheral blood in CHF patients are significantly increased. The overall MDs with 95% CIs for TNF-α, IL-6, CRP and IL-1β were 2.59 pg/ml (2.14∼3.05, p<0.00001), 5.49 pg/mL (4.68∼6.29, p<0.00001), 11.45 mg/dL (7.68∼15.23, p<0.00001) and 0.11 pg/mL (0.09∼0.14, p<0.00001). The mortality of elevated IL-6 group was significantly higher than control group (OR=6.73, 95% CI 2.39∼18.93, p=0.0003).


CONCLUSIONS
Concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and CRP are significantly higher in CHF patients than in control subjects. Proinflammatory cytokines play an import role in the pathogenesis of CHF.
Department of Cardiology , The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai , People's Republic of China.
Mao
M
Liu
Department of Cardiology , The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai , People's Republic of China.
Jian
J
Chen
Department of Cardiology , The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai , People's Republic of China.
Dan
D
Huang
Department of Nephrology , The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai , People's Republic of China.
Jianting
J
Ke
Department of Cardiology , The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai , People's Republic of China.
Wei
W
Wu
HEART FAILURE