Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0085437 (bacterial meningitis)
 4,038 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sixty-five cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 54 infants and children with bacterial meningitis were analyzed for the presence of interferon (IFN)-alpha with a biologic assay. Of the 65 samples, 3 were positive (2-4 IU/mL) and only 1 of 56 collected early was at 4 IU/mL. These results suggest that some subtypes of IFN-alpha already reported as present in viral infections of the central nervous system are not detected in bacterial meningitis by our IFN assay. This difference may be helpful in differentiating bacterial from viral infections and also in evaluating the quality of the virologic investigation; moreover, the rarity of IFN-gamma in CSF in bacterial meningitis needs further investigation to understand its role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
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PMID:Absence of intrathecal synthesis of some interferon-alpha subtypes in bacterial meningitis. 150 Jul 54

The CSF of 57 infants and children with bacterial or enterovirus meningitis was analyzed for the presence of interferon (IFN). CSF was collected when the diagnosis of meningitis was made; a bacterium or enterovirus was isolated in all cases. IFN was detectable in CSF in 24% of cases of bacterial meningitis and in 75% of cases of viral meningitis. Titers of IFN were generally lower in cases of bacterial meningitis. Neither the presence of IFN nor the level of IFN titers correlated with the patient's age or number of white blood cells or mononuclear cells in the CSF. Coxsackievirus induced production of IFN more consistently and in higher titers than did echovirus. None of 35 control patients had detectable IFN in CSF. A literature review and our data indicate that the presence of IFN in CSF suggests infection of the CNS but does not differentiate bacterial from viral infection. The finding of IFN in the CSF of children with bacterial meningitis supports evidence that bacteria and other nonviral microorganisms induce IFN production. The protective role of IFN in nonviral infections deserves further investigation.
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PMID:Bacteria and viruses induce production of interferon in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with acute meningitis: a study of 57 cases and review. 172 15

A major activator of antigen presenting cells (APC) is gamma interferon a product of activated T-lymphocytes. CNS is not well studied and represents a unique system with respect to the immune reactions. Neopterin is an indirect marker of gamma interferon deliberation and may give some new information on the role of APC in CNS. Neopterin in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was determined by specific RIA in children who were lumbar punctured to exclude meningitis. Neopterin was found in various concentrations in serum and CSF of all patients (n = 47). Bacterial meningitis (group 3) was diagnosed in 12 and aseptic meningitis in 18 children (group 2). CSF was drawn in 17 children with febrile convulsions (group 1). Elevated serum neopterin in childhood was only reported in children with an atypical PKU, while data on CSF neopterin were published only in a few cases of adults with CNS involvement. The results show that the APC is stimulated rapidly in childhood similar as in adults following severe viral or bacterial infections. Furthermore neopterin in CSF is not only explained by alteration of the blood-brain barrier but also it may reflect local intrathecal response with activation of accessory cells (APC) in the CNS itself. Between the stimulation of the cellular immune system indicated by increased levels of neopterin and the severity of the disease seems to be a positive correlation.
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PMID:[Intrathecal production of neopterin in meningitis in childhood]. 226 5

Cerebrospinal fluid from 100 patients with clinically diagnosed meningitis was examined for alpha-interferon. In the laboratory four patient groups were identified: bacterial meningitis (n = 12), viral meningitis (n = 15), normal cerebrospinal fluid (n = 57) and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (n = 16). A further 14 patients with cerebrospinal fluid shunts but no abnormality in the cerebrospinal fluid provided a control group for alpha-interferon determinations. The group with viral meningitis and the group with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid had significantly higher alpha-interferon concentrations (p less than 0.001) when compared with those of the three other groups. This assay had great predictive value in determining those patients with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid who did not have a bacterial cause of meningitis. As the groups with abnormal cerebrospinal fluid and viral meningitis had a similar spread in alpha-interferon values it is likely that both reflect viral infection of the central nervous system.
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PMID:Alpha-interferon responses in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with suspected meningitis. 381 74

An easy, reproducible and semi-quantitative, non-radioactive method for the analysis of mRNA expression for various cytokines, (i.e., Interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, lymphotoxin (LT), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, interferon (IFN)-gamma and endothelin-1 (ET-1)) in cells from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) has been established. By means of polymerase chain reaction primers that cover a splice junction, amplification of contaminating DNA was omitted. Densitometric scanning of ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels proved to be very sensitive for semiquantitative analysis of PCR products. Serial tenfold dilutions of cDNA revealed a log-linear regression from 10(6) to 10(2) cells under optimal cycle conditions. The intra- and inter-assay variability of the method was below 10%. With this assay, the cytokine expression pattern of as few as 10(4) mononuclear cells from blood or CSF was determined. This method made it possible to detect differences in the cytokine gene expression pattern of mononuclear cells from patients with different neurological diseases. CSF cells from 43 patients with various neurological diseases were analyzed. TNF-alpha, LT, and IL-1 mRNA were prominent in the CSF cells of most patients with bacterial meningitis. TNF-alpha, LT, IFN-gamma and IL-6 mRNAs were detected in patients with active multiple sclerosis, whereas TNF-alpha, IL-6, and endothelin-1 mRNA expression was found frequently in patients with HIV encephalitis. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were rarely detected in CSF cells from patients with non-inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. In blood mononuclear cells from patients with multiple sclerosis, TNF-alpha mRNA expression was associated with disease activity. The sensitivity, specificity, velocity and reliability of this assay considerably facilitates the analysis of cytokine production in mononuclear cells even in conditions where only a limited number of cells is available for analysis.
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PMID:Semi-quantitative analysis of cytokine gene expression in blood and cerebrospinal fluid cells by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. 778

To assess the role of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in children with bacterial meningitis, bioactive IL-12 (p70) and the inactive subunit p40 and IFN-gamma were measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 35 children with bacterial meningitis and 10 control subjects. The production of IFN-gamma is induced by IL-12 with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) as a costimulator and inhibited by IL-10. CSF concentrations of IL-12 p40 as well as those of IFN-gamma were markedly elevated, whereas IL-12 p70 was hardly detectable. Detectable CSF levels of IFN-gamma correlated positively with IL-12 p40 (r = 0.40, P = 0.02) and TNF-alpha (r = 0.46, P = 0.04) but not with IL-6, IL-8, or IL-10. In contrast to CSF levels of TNF-alpha, IL-12, and IL-10, those of IFN-gamma were significantly higher in patients with pneumococcal meningitis than in children with meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis, presumably because of a high CSF TNF-alpha/IL-10 ratio in the former. We suggest that IL-12- and TNF-alpha-induced IFN-gamma production may contribute to the natural immunity against microorganisms in the CSF compartment during the acute phase of bacterial meningitis.
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PMID:Intrathecal production of interleukin-12 and gamma interferon in patients with bacterial meningitis. 903 91

We have previously shown that immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) protease, an exoenzyme of pathogenic neisseriae, can trigger the release of proinflammatory cytokines from human monocytic subpopulations. Here, we demonstrate a dose-dependent T-cell response to recombinant gonococcal IgA1 protease (strain MS11) in healthy human blood donors. This response was delayed in comparison to the immune response against tetanus toxoid. Stimulation with IgA1 protease led to the activation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, as well as CD19(+) B cells and CD56(+) NK cells, indicated by de novo expression of CD69. Only CD4(+) T cells proliferated and stained positive for intracellular gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). Both proliferation and IFN-gamma production were dependent on antigen presentation via major histocompatibility complex class II. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with IgA1 protease produce IFN-gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha but no, or very low amounts of, interleukin-10 (IL-10) or IL-4, indicating a Th1-based proinflammatory immune response. These findings support the significance of IgA1 protease as a virulence determinant of bacterial meningitis and its function as a dominant proinflammatory T-cell antigen.
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PMID:Neisserial immunoglobulin A1 protease induces specific T-cell responses in humans. 1174 99

The involvement of the choroid plexus in host defense during bacterial meningitis is unclear. Aiming to elucidate possible antibacterial mechanisms, we stimulated primary porcine choroid plexus epithelial cells (pCPEC) with proinflammatory cytokines and challenged them with various Streptococcus suis strains. In the supernatant of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-stimulated pCPEC, streptococcal growth was markedly suppressed. Costimulation with tumor necrosis factor alpha enhanced this bacteriostatic effect, while supplementation of L-tryptophan completely eliminated it. We also demonstrate that an activation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in the pCPEC seems to be responsible for the IFN-gamma-induced bacteriostasis. This supports the hypothesis of an active role of the choroid plexus in host defense against bacterial meningitis.
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PMID:Porcine choroid plexus epithelial cells induce Streptococcus suis bacteriostasis in vitro. 1510 28

Mx proteins are a group of interferon-induced GTPases whose expression has been demonstrated in a number of human viral infections and in some idiopathic inflammatory diseases. In this study, the expression of Mx protein was evaluated in known viral, nonviral, and idiopathic encephalitides in the dog via immunohistochemistry using an antibody against human MxA. All 12 cases of confirmed viral encephalitis, including 7 cases of canine distemper, 4 cases of canine herpesvirus, and 1 case of rabies, were Mx positive. In canine distemper cases, staining was particularly strong and a variety of cell types were positive, including astrocytes, macrophages/microglia, and neurons. Immunoreactivity for Mx protein was evident in a few cases of nonviral infectious encephalitis, including neosporosis (1/1), Chagas disease (2/3), aspergillosis (1/2), and encephalitozoonosis (1/1). Consistent staining was observed in most cases of idiopathic encephalitis, including granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (7/7), necrotizing meningoencephalitis of pug dogs (6/7), and necrotizing encephalitis of the Yorkshire Terrier (3/3) and Maltese (1/1) breeds. Mx staining was negative in 5 normal dog brains; 3 cases of cryptococcosis; and single cases of blastomycosis, protothecosis, and bacterial meningitis.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical evaluation of mx protein expression in canine encephalitides. 1709 55

The objective of this study was to analyze the clinical significance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma concentrations of B7-H3, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), and interleukin-17 (IL-17) in bacterial and aseptic meningitis in children. The participants were six children with bacterial meningitis, 16 with aseptic meningitis, and 12 control subjects. All participants were between 2 months and 12 years of age on admission. Cytokines determination was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. CSF and plasma-circulating B7-H3 were significantly higher in the bacterial meningitis group as compared with the aseptic group (p = 0.001) and the control group (p = 0.000 and p = 0.001 respectively). However, CSF and plasma-circulating B7-H3 in aseptic meningitis were not significantly higher than control group (p = 0.071 and p = 0.72 respectively).CSF and plasma-circulating TNF-alpha were significantly higher in the bacterial meningitis group as compared with the aseptic group (p = 0.004 and p < 0.0001 respectively) and control group (p = 0.004 and p < 0.0001 respectively). Similarly, we did not observe significant elevated TNF-alpha levels in CSF and plasma in aseptic group compared with control group (p = 0.03 and p = 0.12 respectively). IFN-gamma levels in CSF and plasma were undetectable in control group, and we did not find statistical significances in both of CSF and plasma between the elevated IFN-gamma level in bacterial meningitis group and aseptic meningitis group(p = 0.055 and p = 0.095 respectively) CSF and plasma levels of IL-17 were undetectable in all subjects. There were correlations between B7-H3 and TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma (r = 0.875, p = 0.000; r = -0.693, p = 0.000, respectively) in CSF in meningitis subjects. In plasma, levels of B7-H3 in bacterial meningitis on admission correlated positively with TNF-alpha (r = 0.968, p = 0.002), and white blood cell counts (r = 0.973, p = 0.001). Detectable CSF levels of B7-H3, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma on admission were not associated significantly with any of CSF characteristics. Additionally, CSF and plasma levels of B7-H3 decreased remarkably after treatment. Altogether, our data indicated that circulating B7-H3 and TNF-alpha levels in the CSF and plasma were useful markers for distinguishing bacterial from aseptic meningitis, and Circulating B7-H3 was demonstrated to be useful in evaluating the intensity of the infectious inflammatory process in the central nervous system in children.
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PMID:Circulating B7-H3(CD276) elevations in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of children with bacterial meningitis. 1869 May 54


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