Roozbeh Esalatmanesh - Medical Student, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Mohammad Reza Sharif - Infections Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Kamal Esalatmanesh - Department of Rheumatology, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Shirin Heidari - Medical Student, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Zahra Soleimani - Infections Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

Introduction: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease in humans and animals and is a worldwide public health problem. Changes in inflammatory cytokines levels might be deployed as markers for diagnosing infectious diseases from non-infectious medical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of interleukin-۱۷ (IL-۱۷) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in pediatric brucellosis. Methods: The present case-control study included ۴۰ brucellosis patients and ۴۰ matched healthy controls. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured by ELISA, and the independent student t-test was used to compare the levels in the brucellosis and healthy group. Serum cytokine levels before and after treatment were compared by the paired samples t-test. Results: The serum TGF-β level was significantly lower in the patients compared to the control group (۹۰.۲۱ ± ۲۴.۴۴ vs. ۱۲۵.۶۳ ± ۲۳.۲۸ pg/mL, P<۰.nv۰۰۱), and the serum interleukin-۱۷ level was significantly higher in the case group (۸۳.۷۴ ± ۲۳.۵۷ vs. ۲۵.۹۵ ± ۱۷.۸۰ pg/ml, P<۰.۰۰۱). After treatment, serum IL-۱۷ levels significantly decreased in the case group. Conclusion: In brucellosis patients, the serum IL-۱۷ levels decreased significantly, whereas TGF-β increased significantly in these patients. Hence, the serum levels of these inflammatory cytokines can be indicators for diagnosing pediatric brucellosis.

Brucellosis, Interleukin-۱۷, Transforming growth factor-beta