title: Interleukin-18 correlates with interleukin-4 but not interferon-γ production in lymphocyte cultures from atopic dermatitis patients after staphylococcal enterotoxin B stimulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) triggers exacerbation of atopic dermatitis (AD) and causes chronic inflammation through the action of various proteins such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). SEB has a role in activating interleukin (IL)-18, an important regulator of interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-4, in regards to a therapeutic strategy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the correlation of IL-18 level with the IL-4 and IFN-γ level in lymphocyte cultures from AD patients following SEB stimulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty patients with AD based on the Hanifin and Rajka criteria and 20 healthy subjects as a control group were selected. A 5 ml blood sample from each subject was taken for lymphocyte culture. The culture was stimulated with SEB for two days and the outcomes were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to evaluate the levels of IL-18, IL-4, and IFN-γ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the AD group, the levels of IL-18, IL-4, and IFN-γ in lymphocyte cultures with SEB were significantly increased compared with non-SEB exposed cells (each p<0.001); similar results were found in the control group. The level of IL-18 was significantly elevated in lymphocyte cultures with SEB stimulation in AD vs. control (p<0.05) and without SEB in AD vs. control (p<0.05). Furthermore, IL-18 levels were significantly correlated with IL-4 levels and score atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) values in AD patients with SEB (r=0.41, p<0.05; and r=0.70, p<0.05, respectively); on the in contrary, there was no correlation between IL-18 and IFN-γ levels (p=0.469).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that IL-18 is correlated with increased of IL-4 levels in SEB-stimulated AD lymphocyte cultures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Oki
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Suwarsa
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Sudigdo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Ponpon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Idjradinata
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Endang
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sutedja
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Erda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Avriyanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Adlina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asfara
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran - Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Hendra
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gunawan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology*; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000276:immunology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins; C000589760:IL18 protein, human; C508598:IL4 protein, human; D020382:Interleukin-18; D015847:Interleukin-4; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal; D007371:Interferon-gamma