The association between plasma IL-6 levels and several thalassemia-related clinical features in Iraqi patients

Abstract

The present study was set to investigate the potential association between the level of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), as a key component of the pro-inflammatory response, with different thalassemia’s biological and clinical features. For this purpose, one hundred fifty blood samples were collected from 100 beta-thalassemia patients, who attended the Genetic Hematology Centre at Ibn Al- Baladi Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, and 50 healthy subjects who were employed as a control group. IL-6 levels were estimated using an ELISA Kit, whereas other thalassemia-related clinical features (such as HbA, HbF, ferritin, blood transfusions, splenectomy status, and the history of frequent infection) were additionally assessed. The results of the present study showed a significant elevation (P≤0.01) in the levels of IL-6 in thalassemia patients as compared to healthy controls (57.7763± 8.94837 vs. 6.3059± 1.90364 pg/ml, respectively). Furthermore, IL-6 plasma levels seem to be influenced by the number of multiple scheduled blood transfusions, with the higher IL-6 mean level corresponding to the more frequent transfusions. Also, splenectomized thalassemia patients showed significantly higher IL-6 levels than those of non-splenectomized patients (61.2687±9.30688 vs. 56.9571±8.71926 pg/ml, respectively).