BackgroundThis study was undertaken to investigate the potential significance of expression levels of IL-6 and IL-10 in serum of the mice infected with clinical common kinds of bacterial. MethodsICR mice divided in different groups were infected with Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae respectively. The serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10 were detected by The Luminex® xMAP™ System at 0.5h, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h and 48h after injection. ResultsThe levels of IL-6 and IL-10 in mouse serum increased significantly at 0.5h after bacterial injection in all experimental groups compared with the control group (P<0.01), and the level of IL-6 remained higher in experimental groups during the first 2days after injection (P<0.01). The highest level of IL-10 was reached at 1h after injection in E. coli and K. pneumoniae groups, at 3h in Staphylococcus aureus group and at 6h in E. faecalis group respectively. The increase degrees of IL-6 and IL-10 in E. coli and K. pneumoniae groups were significantly higher than those in S. aureus and E. faecalis groups (P<0.01). There was no obvious change of IL-6 and IL-10 in the control group. ConclusionThere were significantly increases of the serum IL-6 and IL-10 at the early stage of 4 different bacterial BSIs. The increase degrees and rates of IL-6 and IL-10 in E. coli and K. pneumoniae groups were significantly higher than those in S. aureus group and E. faecalis group. The combination of IL-6 and IL-10 could be used in the early diagnosis for bacterial BSI and may provide a basis for clinical therapy.