Cytokine dysregulation is the proposed mechanism for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-5, IL-8, Il-9, IL-17, TGF-β and IFN-γ in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The study was conducted between 63 adult patients with COVID‐19 and compared with 33 age and gender-matched healthy subjects as controls. The age range in both groups was 50 to 70 years. The patients were classified into mild group (33 patients) and severe group (30 patients). Serum samples were collected from all participants and tested for the cytokine levels by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method. Statistical analysis was performed using the one-way ANOVA. The mean serum levels of IFN-γ, TGF-β, IL-17 and IL-8 in the COVID‐19 patients were significantly higher than those observed in the control group. A comparison of between the mild and severe groups showed significant differences in TGF-β levels. The mean concentration of serum IL-5 and IL-9 in patients with COVID‐19 did not differ from those in the control group. Systemic IL-17 levels correlated positively and significantly with TGF-β in patients with COVID‐19. Th1 (IFN-γ), Treg (TGF-β), and Th17 (IL-17) cytokines concentration were increased in COVID-19 patients. Interferon-γ and IL-17 are involved in inducing and mediating proinflammatory responses. Our data suggest that TGF-β can be used as a predictive factor of disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

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COVID-19 患者的细胞因子概况和疾病严重程度

细胞因子失调是 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 的拟议机制。本研究的目的是评估干扰素 (IFN)-γ、白细胞介素 (IL)-5、IL-8、IL-9、感染 SARS-CoV-2 的患者中的 IL-17、TGF-β 和 IFN-γ。该研究在 63 名成年 COVID-19 患者中进行，并与 33 名年龄和性别匹配的健康受试者作为对照。两组的年龄范围均为 50 至 70 岁。患者分为轻度组（33例）和重症组（30例）。从所有参与者收集血清样本，并通过 ELISA（酶联免疫吸附测定）方法检测细胞因子水平。使用单向方差分析进行统计分析。COVID-19患者的IFN-γ、TGF-β、IL-17和IL-8的平均血清水平显着高于对照组。轻度组和重度组之间的比较显示TGF-β水平存在显着差异。COVID-19患者血清IL-5和IL-9的平均浓度与对照组没有差异。COVID-19 患者的全身 IL-17 水平与 TGF-β 呈显着正相关。COVID-19 患者中 Th1 (IFN-γ)、Treg (TGF-β) 和 Th17 (IL-17) 细胞因子浓度升高。干扰素-γ 和 IL-17 参与诱导和介导促炎症反应。我们的数据表明 TGF-β 可用作 COVID-19 患者疾病严重程度的预测因素。