Production of the Proinflammatory Cytokine TNF-α in Patients with Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus Infection

Abstract

Aim of the Study: Study of the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in patients with Chronic Epstein-Barr Viral Infection (CEBI). Material and Methods: 90 patients with CVEBI were examined. The group consisted of 66 women and 24 men. The average age of the patients was 38.37 ± 1.15 years. The duration of the course of CVEBI from the appearance of the patient’s first complaints to diagnosis was 3.73 ± 0.22 years. The amount of EBV DNA in saliva samples (PCR method) and the level of production of the cytokine TNF-α ware examined in patients. Results: The copy number of EBV DNA in saliva samples from patients was 135898.61±23196.21 cop/ml. The level of induced TNF-α in the general group was 3288.73±260.88. All patients were divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 49) - the level of induced TNF-α was reduced - 1624.69±105.53 (pg/ ml) (95% CI: 1412.52; 1836.86) ; Group 2 (n =30) - the level of induced TNF-α is normal - 3819.19 ±427.00 (pg/ml) (95% CI: 3045.27; 4701.81); Group 3 (n =11) the level of induced TNF-α is high – 7203.00 ± 627.50 (pg/ml) (95% CI: 6135.37 - 8609.87). Patients did not differ in age, disease duration, or number of EBV DNA copies in saliva samples. The linear and exponential regression method was used to show the effect of disease duration on the level of TNF-α production in the general group of patients (R2 =0.386 F=55.925 p=0.0001 β=0.621 and R2 =0.735 F=246.808 p=0.0001 β=0.857, respectively). TNF-α influences the development of headaches in patients (Pearson correlation R = 0.223 p = 0.040) and the severity of postnasal drip (r = -0.231 p = 0.033 τ = - 0.171 p = 0.039). Conclusion: The study showed that the duration of the disease affects the level of production of induced TNF-α. TNF-α levels contribute to the development of headaches and postnasal drip in patients in the general group.