Clinical Significance of Serum TNF-a and IL-۶ Levels in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Background: Several components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) facilitate its diagnosis, including abdominal obesity, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. The production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin ۶ (IL-۶) seem to be associated with MetS components. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the serum levels of TNFα and IL-۶ with metabolic syndrome and its components. Methods: This case-control study investigated a total of ۲۵۰ subjects, comprising ۱۲۵ healthy controls from the Kerman Blood Transfusion Organization and ۱۲۵ metabolic syndrome patients. Serum IL-۶ and TNF-a levels were measured using the ELISA technique. Results: There was a significant increase in the serum levels of TNF-a and IL-۶ in patients with metabolic syndrome compared with the controls. However, a lack of correlation between MetS components and TNF-a and IL-۶ serum levels was detected. Conclusions: Patients with MetS had significantly raised serum IL-۶ and TNF-a levels compared with the controls, supporting the evidence that inflammation plays an important role in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. Additionally, serum levels of IL-۶ and TNF-a are suggested as valuable predicting factors for MetS. The lack of association between IL-۶ and TNF-a serum levels and MetS components remains to be investigated by further research.

Keywords:

IL-۶ , TNF-a , metabolic syndrome , metabolic syndrome components