Analysis of cytokine levels in cerebrospinal fluid in mumps meningitis: comparison with echovirus type 30 meningitis

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether or not the CSF cytokine profiles in viral meningitis differ with the kind of causative virus. METHODS: We measured the concentrations of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 in CSF during the acute stage in 15 children with mumps meningitis (MM), and 34 with echovirus type 30 meningitis (EM). RESULTS: The CSF IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 levels were elevated in MM, and the CSF IFN-gamma, IL-2, and IL-6 levels were elevated in EM. The CSF IFN-gamma, IL-2, and IL-10 levels in MM were significantly higher than those in EM (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, and p<0.0001, respectively). The CSF IL-6 levels in EM were significantly higher than those in MM (p=0.0255). The CSF TNF-alpha and IL-4 levels were not elevated in MM or EM. In MM, the IL-6 level was correlated with the IL-2 and IL-10 levels in CSF (p=0.0347 and p=0.0120, respectively). In EM, the IFN-gamma level was correlated with the IL-10 level in CSF (p=0.0002). CONCLUSION: CSF cytokine profiles in MM were different from those in EM. Therefore, it is likely that the pathogenesis of MM is different from that of EM.