interleukin-8 and Vesico-Ureteral-Reflux

Topics: Adhesins, Bacterial; Animals; Bacterial Adhesion; Fimbriae, Bacterial; Humans; Interleukin-8; Mannose; Urinary Tract; Urinary Tract Infections; Urine; Urodynamics; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux; Virulence

Many studies have indicated a role for cytokines in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma and urinary levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1), and interleukin-8 (IL-8/CXCL8) in pediatric patients with CKD stages 2-4.. Cytokines were measured in 37 healthy controls and in 42 CKD patients by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Patients were divided into groups according to CKD etiology: glomerular disease (group 1, n = 11) and congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (group 2, n = 31). Urinary cytokine measurements were standardized for creatinine.. Plasma and urinary levels of MCP-1/CCL2 were significantly higher in both CKD groups compared to the control group. Between the two CKD groups, only urinary MCP-1/CCL2 levels were significantly different, with MCP-1/CCL2 levels higher in group 1 patients. Plasma and urinary levels of IL-8/CXCL8 and TGF-β1 were undetectable in the control group but comparable between the two CKD groups. In group 1 patients, urinary MCP-1/CCL2 levels were negatively correlated to serum albumin levels and positively correlated to the levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides. In group 2 patients, urinary levels of IL-8/CXCL8 were negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate and positively correlated with body mass index.. Differences in cytokine profiles may be related to CKD etiology and other disease-associated alterations.

Topics: Adolescent; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Chemokine CCL2; Child; Cholesterol; Creatinine; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dyslipidemias; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Glomerulonephritis; Humans; Inflammation Mediators; Interleukin-8; Male; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Transforming Growth Factor beta1; Triglycerides; Urogenital Abnormalities; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a risk factor for kidney scarring, hypertension and declining renal function. Standard diagnostic methods are invasive and can cause exposure to radiation and urinary tract infections (UTIs). We aimed to investigate urine albumin and interleukin-8 levels as markers of ongoing VUR and renal damage in children without UTIs.. Random urine samples were collected from 51 children, including 16 children with VUR (group A), 17 children with resolved VUR (group B) and 18 normal children (group C). The diagnosis of VUR or resolved VUR was confirmed by voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) or direct radionuclide cystography (DRNC). All children had normal kidney function and had no evidence of UTI in the preceding three months. Random urine specimens were assayed for albumin (Alb), creatinine (Cr) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) and mean values were compared by one way ANOVA.. In groups A and B, the mean age at first UTI was 31.7 ± 2.4 and 27 ± 2.0 months respectively. In group A, the mean duration between VUR diagnosis and study entrance was 30 ± 9.1 months. In group B, the mean duration between VUR diagnosis and recovery was 19.9 ± 1.3 months. Overall, 76.4% of affected children had bilateral VUR and 41.2% had severe VUR. There were no significant differences in urinary Alb, IL-8, Alb/Cr and IL-8/Cr between the three groups.. The current study does not support the hypothesis that microalbuminuria or urinary IL-8 are good indicators of ongoing VUR and renal injury in children.

Topics: Albuminuria; Analysis of Variance; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Interleukin-8; Male; Urinary Tract Infections; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is one of the most significant bacterial infections in infancy and early childhood, and can lead to permanent kidney damage and chronic renal failure.. To evaluate interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels in the urine of children with renal scarring (RS), searching for clinical information about the immuno-inflammatory process that contributes to RS.. Urine concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 were evaluated in 50 children, 33 with RS detected after an episode of acute pyelonephritis (group A) and 17 children with a history of acute pyelonephritis, but without RS (group B). These children were divided into four groups: group A(1), 23 children with RS and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR); group A(2), 10 children with RS without VUR; group B(1), 13 children without RS and without VUR; group B(2), 4 children without RS, but with VUR. None of them had had urinary tract infection for a minimum of 6 months. To avoid dilution effects, urinary levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were expressed as the ratio of cytokine to urinary creatinine (pg/mg).. Urinary IL-8 levels were below the lower detection limit in all samples. IL-6 was detectable in the majority of children with RS and below the detection limits in the urine samples of children without RS. There were no statistically significant differences between urinary interleukin-6 levels in children with and those without VUR. There was a significant relationship between the grade of renal scars, the time passed since the last episode of acute pyelonephritis and the urinary levels of IL-6 (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.04 respectively).. Further experimental studies are required to demonstrate the correlation between histopathology and urinary cytokine levels.

Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Cicatrix; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Kidney Diseases; Male; Pyelonephritis; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a common finding in children with urinary tract infection (UTI), mostly diagnosed by voiding retrograde cystogram (VCUG). Children with VUR are at higher risk of renal damage with recurrent infections. Detecting VUR and renal scarring currently depends on imaging modalities with interventional invasive diagnostic methods. Noninvasive methods would greatly facilitate diagnosis and also help in identifying VUR in siblings of index cases who should be screened. Various imaging and biochemical methods with different specificity and sensitivity have been presented as substitute diagnostic tool for VCUG to identify VUR. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), a chemokine produced by damaged epithelial cells of the renal tract in response to inflammation, has been shown to increase during acute UTI. We have scarce data considering the cut point of urine IL-8 as a diagnostic method of VUR in children. The objective of this study was to assess the urine levels of IL-8 as a noninvasive marker of VUR in infants in the absence of a recent UTI episode.. This cross sectional study was conducted on28 patients with UTI and VUR (group 1), 28 patients with VUR and without UTI (group 2), and 28 healthy children/infants(control group)in St. Alzahra hospital, Esfahan, from January 2009 until March 2010.. Urine IL-8 level was measured for all children. The data was analyzed by SPSS soft ware version 17. The t-student test, ?2, and ANOVA were used as statistical method.. The mean age of group 1, group 2 and control group were 4.3 +/- 2.9, 4 +/- 2.6 and 4 +/- 2.1 years respectively, p > 0.05. The mean level of IL-8 in group 1 was significantly higher than group 2 and control group 10 +/- 14.8 versus 6.5 +/- 8.4, and 2.9 +/- 4.5 respectively (P = 0.039).. Although urinary IL-8 may be helpful in determining high grade VUR, but the results of this study showed that the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of this marker were not satisfactory in cutoff point of 5 pg/pmol and other variables must be controlled.

Topics: Biomarkers; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-8; Male; Predictive Value of Tests; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Urine IL-8 concentrations are known to be elevated in urinary tract infection (UTI), as well as in vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) even in the absence of infection. In this study we further investigated urine IL-8 in infants with congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract and with antenatally diagnosed isolated pelvic dilatation. Urine IL-8 was measured in 159 infants aged 1 month to 1 year with acute UTI (group A, n = 26), resolved UTI (group B, n = 16), VUR without recent UTI (group C, n = 44), non-VUR congenital urinary anomalies without recent UTI (group D, n = 30), isolated antenatal pelvic dilatation (group E, n = 14) and in infants without known urinary tract condition (control group F, n = 29). Median values of urine IL-8/creatinine levels were 61.5, 4.64, 15.5, 14.3, 1.06 and 4.19 pg/μmol in groups A, B, C, D, E and F respectively. Compared with the control group, urine IL-8 was elevated in infants with acute UTI, VUR without acute UTI and congenital anomalies without acute UTI (p < 0.0001; p < 0.005; and p = 0.027 respectively), but not in infants with resolved UTI or with antenatal pelvic dilatation. Urine IL-8 levels are elevated in a variety of infectious and non-infectious urinary tract conditions, and hence may serve as a sensitive but not specific screening biomarker of urinary tract diseases.

Topics: Biomarkers; Child, Preschool; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-8; Urinary Tract Infections; Urologic Diseases; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

The objective of this study was to assess the urine levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) as noninvasive markers of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and renal parenchymal scarring (RPS) in children in the absence of a recent urinary tract infection (UTI) episode. Urine concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 in 114 children aged 1 month to 16 years were evaluated. The children were divided into four groups: group 1, 26 children with VUR and RPS; group 2, 27 children with VUR without RPS; group 3, 34 children with RPS without VUR, group 4, 27 children without VUR and RPS, as the control group. After the first assessment, the children were divided into four larger groups for comparison purposes: group A (groups 1+2), 53 children with VUR; group B (groups 3+4), 61 children without VUR; group C (groups 1+3), 60 children with RPS; group D (groups 2+4), 54 children without RPS. Urinary IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations were determined. To avoid dilution effects and to the standardize samples, urinary levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were expressed as the ratio of cytokine to urinary creatinine (pg/mg). The median urine IL-6/creatinine was significantly higher in patients with VUR than in those without VUR (5.72 vs. 3.73). In patients with VUR, there was a significant but rather weak correlation between IL-6/creatinine concentrations and there flux grade (p<0.05, R=0.305). The median urine IL-8/creatinine was significantly higher in patients with RPS than in those without RPS (43.12 vs. 16.36). In patients with RPS, there was a significant but rather weak correlation between IL-8/creatinine concentrations and the renal scar grade (p<0.05, R=0.251). The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that children with VUR have a high urine IL-6 concentration, whereas children with RPS have a high urine IL-8 concentration.

Topics: Adolescent; Biomarkers; Child; Child, Preschool; Cicatrix; Creatinine; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Male; Predictive Value of Tests; Prospective Studies; ROC Curve; Severity of Illness Index; Up-Regulation; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Cytokines play a major role in renal scar formation following febrile urinary tract infection (UTI). We investigated the role of dexamethasone combined with antibiotics in diminishing urinary interleukin-6 (UIL-6) and UIL-8 concentrations during the acute phase of pyelonephritis compared with standard antibiotic therapy. UIL-6 and UIL-8 concentrations were determined by enzyme immunoassay in 34 children with pyelonephritis who were treated with ceftriaxone plus dexamethasone (case group) and in 20 patients with the same diagnosis treated with ceftriaxone alone (control group). Urine samples were obtained at the time of presentation prior to drug administration and at follow-up 72 h after initiation of medication. Creatinine concentrations were also determined, and cytokine/creatinine ratios were calculated to standardize samples. Differences between cytokine/creatinine ratios in initial and follow-up urine samples were significant in the case group (P < 0.001) but not for controls. In addition, combined antibiotic and dexamethasone significantly decreased UIL-6 and UIL-8 concentrations compared with antibiotic alone (P < 0.05). We conclude that dexamethasone combined with antibiotics significantly decreases UIL-6 and UIL-8 levels in patients with acute pyelonephritis. This suggests that the clinical use of corticosteroids may prevent scar formation following febrile UTI.

Topics: Acute Disease; Ceftriaxone; Child; Child, Preschool; Cicatrix; Creatinine; Cytokines; Dexamethasone; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Leukocyte Count; Male; Pyelonephritis; Urinary Tract Infections; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) is the most common inherited disorder of the lower urinary tract. Children with VUR are at risk for ongoing renal damage with subsequent infections. IL8 is an important inflammatory mediator which can be produced by epithelial cells of the renal tract in response to a variety of inflammatory stimuli. High serum concentrations of IL-8 have been reported in patients with chronic renal failure. Elevated IL-8 levels have been reported in the urine of patients with VUR and renal parenchymal scarring (RPS). More recently it was reported that urine IL-8 levels remain elevated in infants with VUR even in the absence of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Increased IL-8 expression has been shown to be associated with polymorphism at position -251 (rs4073) of the IL-8 promoter. The aim of this study was to examine the association of IL-8 gene polymorphism with familial VUR in a cohort of 219 siblings from 109 families affected with VUR, the largest such cohort tested to date. RPS was assessed using dimercaptosuccinic acid scintigraphy. Genotyping was performed in 219 siblings with VUR (157 without RPS, 62 with RPS) and 292 controls for the position -251 of IL-8 gene by polymerase chain reaction with tetra primers and gel analysis. Genotype was compared using the chi square test. Statistical significance was taken as a value of P < 0.05. There were no significant differences in IL-8 -251 genotype frequency between VUR patients and controls. Similarly, gender, severity of VUR and renal parenchymal scarring had no effect on IL-8 -251 genotype frequency. Although IL-8 urinary levels have been reported to be elevated in VUR, our data indicate that IL-8 gene is not involved in the pathogenesis of familial VUR or reflux nephropathy.

Topics: Chelating Agents; Cohort Studies; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Interleukin-8; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Male; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Radionuclide Imaging; Sex Distribution; Siblings; Succimer; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

We performed a case-control study in children diagnosed by the first episode of upper urinary tract infection with or without vesicoureteral reflux to evaluate the association of functional polymorphism of interleukin-8 (-251A>T and +2767A>G), and its receptor CXCR1 (+2607G>C).. Genomic DNA was obtained from 265 children with a clinical and laboratory diagnosis of urinary tract infection who were recruited in northeast Italy. The children were subdivided as 173 who were dimercapto-succinic acid scan positive with positive static renal scintigraphy in acute conditions, consistent with the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis, and 92 who were dimercapto-succinic acid scan negative. Genetic analysis for the same polymorphisms was also extended to a control population of 106 umbilical cord DNA samples.. Statistical analysis of genotype data showed that 1) the tested populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 2) there were significant differences between the dimercapto-succinic acid scan positive and negative groups (p=0.049), and the dimercapto-succinic acid scan positive group vs controls (p=0.032) in terms of interleukin-8 -251A>T polymorphism frequency, 3) there was also a significant difference in the distribution of IL-8 -251A>T and +2767A>G polymorphisms between dimercapto-succinic acid scan positive and negative children in the subgroup without vesicoureteral reflux (p=0.03 and 0.02, respectively) and 4) no significant differences were found in the frequency of the distribution of CXCR1 +2607G>C polymorphism in all groups.. These data suggest that the gene for the proinflammatory chemokine interleukin-8 is involved in susceptibility to acute pyelonephritis during upper urinary tract infection in children with or without vesicoureteral reflux.

Topics: Acute Disease; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Interleukin-8; Male; Polymorphism, Genetic; Pyelonephritis; Receptors, Interleukin-8A; Urinary Tract Infections; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is a common finding in children presenting with urinary tract infection (UTI) and prenatally diagnosed urinary tract dilatation and in relatives of index patients. Children with VUR are at risk for ongoing renal damage with subsequent infections. Detecting VUR and renal scarring currently depends on imaging modalities with associated problems of radiation, invasiveness, and expense. Noninvasive methods would greatly facilitate diagnosis and would also help in identifying relatives of index cases who should be screened. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is produced by epithelial cells of the renal tract in response to inflammatory stimuli and has been shown to increase during acute UTI. The objective of this study was to assess the urine levels of IL-8 as a noninvasive marker of VUR in infants in the absence of a recent UTI episode.. We evaluated urine concentrations of IL-8 in 59 infants aged 1 month to 2 years. All infants were free of UTI for a minimum of 3 weeks before IL-8 evaluation. Infants were divided into 3 groups: group A, subjects with proven VUR (24 infants aged 0.15-1.95 years, median 0.43); group B, subjects with a history of UTI but negative investigation for VUR (14 infants aged 0.32-1.95 years, median 0.57); and group C, subjects without any history of acute or chronic condition that might impair renal function (21 infants aged 0.08-1.92 years, median 0.33). IL-8 concentrations were determined by a commercially available quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To avoid dilution effects, urinary levels of IL-8 were expressed as the ratio of cytokine-to-urinary creatinine.. Results were presented as medians and ranges. The Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney rank sum U test, and the Spearman rank order correlation test were performed for the univariate analysis. Two-tailed P values were calculated and the conventional level of significance P < .05 was applied in all cases. Infants in groups A and B had been free of UTI for a period of 3 to 52 weeks (median, 5.0 weeks) and 3 to 78 weeks (median, 4.5 weeks), respectively, before IL-8 determination. No significant difference was noted in the length of the UTI-free period between groups A and B (P = .469). Urine creatinine concentrations did not differ among groups A, B, and C (medians 1.15, 2.25, and 1.15 micromol/mL, respectively; P = .080). The median urine IL-8/creatinine concentrations (pg/micromol) were 40.5 (range, 2.04-3874) in group A, 1.91 (range, 0.001-386) in group B, and 2.47 (range, 0.002-55.6) in group C. Urine IL-8/creatinine concentrations were significantly higher in group A than both in group B (P = .0003) and in group C (P < .0001). No significant difference was observed between groups B and C (P = .749). In group A, no significant correlation was shown between IL-8/creatinine concentrations and the presence of renal parenchymal damage (P = .506), reflux grade (P = .770), or time from UTI (P = .155). A receiver-operator characteristic curve was constructed by plotting the sensitivity versus the specificity for different cutoff concentrations of IL-8/creatinine. With a cutoff concentration of urinary IL-8/creatinine at 5 pg/micromol, the sensitivity of this marker in diagnosing VUR was 88%, the specificity 69%, the positive prognostic value 66%, and the negative prognostic value 89%. In higher cutoff concentrations, specificity of the marker increased but sensitivity rapidly decreased.. We present evidence that urine IL-8 concentrations remain elevated in infants with VUR even in the absence of UTI and that a cutoff of 5 pg/micromol IL-8/creatinine is of high sensitivity and adequate specificity for diagnosing VUR. Elevated urine IL-8 levels in VUR and renal scarring have already been reported; however, the present study is, to our knowledge, the first to confirm significant differences between infants with VUR and infants with a history of UTI alone and healthy controls, and to suggest a reliable cutoff concentration for diagnosing VUR. Our findings additionally suggest that inflammatory process in VUR is ongoing even after UTI has resolved, pointing against the currently held belief that sterile reflux cannot harm kidneys. The chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate associated with reflux nephropathy rather than VUR itself might offer an explanation for the secretion of IL-8, which may well be independent of reflux grade. Using urine IL-8 for diagnosing VUR is not free of limitations, because IL-8 may be elevated as a result of urinary tract manipulation or undetected UTI. In addition, this study focused on infants and not in older children with longstanding VUR. Increased urine IL-8 concentrations after UTI has resolved is a promising noninvasive marker for an initial screening for VUR in infancy with high sensitivity and adequate specificity.

Topics: Biomarkers; Creatinine; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-8; Predictive Value of Tests; Sensitivity and Specificity; Urinary Tract Infections; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common clinical disorder in younger infants and children and may result in permanent renal damage. The inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 play an important role in response to bacterial infection. This prospective study investigated the association between serum and urine IL-6 and IL-8 levels and acute pyelonephritis confirmed by (99m)Tc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan. A total of 78 children aged 1-121 months with a diagnosis of first-time febrile UTI were included. The following inflammatory markers were assessed: fever; white blood cells count (WBC); C-reactive protein (CRP); and serum and urine IL-6 and IL-8. The patients were divided into the acute pyelonephritis group (n=42) and the lower UTI group (n=36) according to the results of DMSA scan. Fever, WBC and CRP levels were significantly higher in children with acute pyelonephritis than in those with lower UTI (all p <0.001). Significantly, higher initial serum and urine IL-6 and IL-8 levels were found in children with acute pyelonephritis than in those with lower UTI (all p <0.001). Serum and urine IL-6 in children with acute pyelonephritis were positively correlated with fever, CRP and leucocyturia. These results indicate that both serum and urine IL-6 and IL-8 levels, particularly IL-6, are useful diagnostic tools for early recognition of acute pyelonephritis in febrile children.

Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Male; Pyelonephritis; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Topics: Adolescent; Child; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Interleukin-8; Interleukins; Male; Pyelonephritis; Statistics, Nonparametric; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Cytokines are small regulatory peptides with diverse functions. They regulate the immune system and modulate the inflammatory response, both of which are implicated in vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) and associated reflux nephropathy (RN). The cytokine profile in VUR and RN has yet to be fully investigated. Blood was obtained from three subject groups immediately after induction of anaesthesia: group A [subjects with VUR and established RN, (N=9)]; group B [VUR alone but no associated RN, (N=6)]; and group C [age- and sex-matched controls with no history of urinary sepsis, (N=14)]. Serum cytokine levels of tumour-necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble TNF receptor-1 (sTNF-R1), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were measured using standard ELISA technique. Serum levels of IL-6 were higher in group A subjects (1.798-4.638 pg/ml, median 3.253 pg/ml) than controls (1.531-2.078 pg/ml, median 1.798 pg/ml). There was no significant difference in levels in group B subjects (1.498-3. 048 pg/ml, median 1.948 pg/ml) and controls. These same relationships were observed for levels of TNF-alpha (group A: 8. 501-14.471 pg/ml, median 13.483 pg/ml; group B: 7.088-10.650 pg/ml, median 8.886 pg/ml; group C: 6.746-13.344 pg/ml, median 7.671 pg/ml) and sTNF-R1 (group A: 690.34-5780.74 pg/ml, median 1197.38 pg/ml; group B: 366.65-1401.62 pg/ml, median 592.82 pg/ml; C: 313.49-636.33 pg/ml, median 504.17 pg/ml). IL-8 was not significantly elevated in any of the study groups (A or B) compared with control group C (group A: 27.08-56.38 pg/ml, median 31.35 pg/ml; group B: 29.90-35. 87 pg/ml, median 31.35 pg/ml; group C: 25.05-30.22 pg/ml, median 29. 90 pg/ml). These results suggest there may be an immunological basis to RN.

Topics: Adolescent; Antigens, CD; Child; Child, Preschool; Cytokines; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Infant; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Kidney Diseases; Male; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type I; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

Elevation of urinary levels of interleukin-6 and 8 has been observed in patients with acute urinary tract infections. However, to our knowledge there have been no studies concerning the secretion of interleukin-6 and 8 into the urine after acute inflammation has resolved and renal scarring has occurred. On the other hand, it is well known that cytokines are variously related to glomerular diseases and, thus, it is possible that the progression of reflux nephropathy depends on interleukin-6 or 8. Therefore, we assessed urinary levels of interleukin-6 and 8 in children with vesicoureteral reflux and/or renal scarring.. We evaluated interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 levels in the urine of 32 children without a urinary tract infection who presented or were admitted to our hospital because of vesicoureteral reflux between April and December 1994. Interleukin-6 and 8 were determined using a commercially available human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit and the 2-step sandwich method.. Urinary interleukin-6 levels were below the lower detection limit (less than 10 pg./ml.) in all samples. There were statistically significant differences between urinary interleukin-8 levels in children with and without renal scarring (p = 0.001), and with and without vesicoureteral reflux (p = 0.0246).. Urinary interleukin-8 is an effective marker for renal scarring and vesicoureteral reflux.

Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Cicatrix; Female; Humans; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Kidney Diseases; Male; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux

The relationship between urine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8)/creatinine quotients and 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scintigraphy, performed within 10 days of acute first-time pyelonephritis and after 1 year, was studied in 41 children. The urine IL-6 and IL-8/creatinine quotients were also related to the urine N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and albumin/creatinine quotients. Presence of DMSA uptake defects, reflecting local inflammation, in children in the acute phase of pyelonephritis, were associated with elevated urine IL-6/creatinine quotients (median 27 pg/mumol); in children without DMSA changes there was no increase in quotients (median non-detectable) (P < 0.05). Persistent DMSA changes at the 1-year follow-up, probably reflecting renal scarring, were only seen in children with increased urine IL-6/creatinine quotients in the acute phase (P < 0.01). No correlation was found between urine IL-8 and DMSA uptake defects. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) at 6-8 weeks did not correlate with the urine cytokine levels in the acute phase. The urine excretion of NAG and albumin, reflecting renal dysfunction, was associated with values of both urine IL-6 and IL-8/creatinine quotients, but not with DMSA defects or VUR. Thus, the initial urine IL-6/creatinine quotients might be used as an indicator of risk for persistent renal damage in acute pyelonephritis.

Topics: Acetylglucosaminidase; Acute Disease; Albuminuria; Child; Child, Preschool; Creatinine; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Kidney; Organotechnetium Compounds; Pyelonephritis; Radionuclide Imaging; Succimer; Technetium Tc 99m Dimercaptosuccinic Acid; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux