ROLE OF INTERLEUKIN-8 IN THE ASSESSMENT OF INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN RESPIRATORY ACUTE INFECTIONS IN BREASTFED INFANTS
Abstract:
Acute respiratory infections are the most common pathology in infants and small children.
Regarding the diagnosis set up in infectious diseases, modern medicine has been recording a growing
trend, of guidance for the assessment of immune response. Immunoassay diagnostic approach is
supported by recent concerns of researchers who are working hard to find and validate new biomarkers
that reflect the human body’s immune response to the contact with microbial agents. Also,
immunological actions of breastfeeding and the importance of breastfeeding for the development of a
strong immune system of the infant are illustrated by more and more recent studies and publications. In
breastfed infants, who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infections, the evaluation of cytokine
production is important to highlight their involvement in the imunopatogenetic mechanisms of this
disease, but also to assess the infant immune response to respiratory infections. Objectives: Starting
from these premises, I dosed serum levels of interleukin-8 in breastfed infants, diagnosed with acute
respiratory infections with the aim to find some correlations between serum levels of interleukin-8 and
demographics, type of respiratory infection, presence of personal history of respiratory infections,
parental smoking. Material and Methods: The study included a total of 44 subjects who were fed with
breast milk. They were divided into the study group made up of 28 infants with acute respiratory
infections and the control group consisting of 16 infants without signs of acute respiratory infections, or
other types of infections. Results: Serum levels of interleukin-8 were significantly higher in subjects with
acute respiratory infections, compared to subjects in the control group. Conclusions: Interleukin-8 could
be an immunological marker of acute respiratory infections in infants. There is a need for further
research to determine if the increase in the serum level of interleukin-8 in infants with acute respiratory
tract infections is the result of the immune mechanisms that occur as a body’s response to the contact
with infectious agents, and if breastfeeding is one of positive factors influencing this process.
full text article in English (.EN) |