Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

160-165

Authors: Banothu Vinod Kumar, Kajal Kamboj, Ashok Kumar Pannu, Ashok Kumar Yadav, Mandip Bhatia, Atul Saroch

Objective: To measure the effect of doxycycline on inflammatory marker [IL-6, TNF-α, ferritin and C reactive protein (CRP)] levels in patients with dengue infection. Methods: A single-centre, open-label, parallel-group randomized controlled trial was done in PGIMER Chandigarh from June 2021 to October 2022. Patients were randomized using a simple randomization process into two groups: the doxycycline treatment group (n=35) and the control group (n=34). Patients in the treatment group were given oral doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for five days along with standard treatment, whereas patients in the control group received only standard treatment. The objective was to measure the effect of doxycycline on inflammatory markers in dengue infection. Results: On comparative analysis at day 5, there was a statistically significant reduction in the median values of ferritin and CRP in cases compared to the control group (ferritin: P=0.006 and CRP: P=0.006). No significant reduction was noted in the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α. Conclusions: Doxycycline treatment led to a reduction of inflammatory markers in dengue infection.

173-183

Authors: Muqi Wang, Huiling Deng, Yuan Chen, Yikai Wang, Yufeng Zhang, Chenrui Liu, Meng Zhang, Ting Li, Shuangsuo Dang, Yaping Li

Objective: To explore which pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play a key role in the development of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) by analyzing PRR-associated genes. Methods: We conducted a comparative analysis of PRR-associated gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) infected with enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) which were derived from patients with HFMD of different severities and at different stages. A total of 30 PRR-associated genes were identified as significantly upregulated both over time and across different EV-A71 isolates. Subsequently, ELISA was employed to quantify the expression of the six most prominent genes among these 30 identified genes, specifically, BST2, IRF7, IFI16, TRIM21, MX1, and DDX58. Results: Compared with those at the recovery stage, the expression levels of BST2 (P=0.027), IFI16 (P=0.016), MX1 (P=0.046) and DDX58 (P=0.008) in the acute stage of infection were significantly upregulated, while no significant difference in the expression levels of IRF7 (P=0.495) and TRIM21 (P=0.071) was found between different stages of the disease. The expression levels of BST2, IRF7, IFI16 and MX1 were significantly higher in children infected with single pathogen than those infected with mixed pathogens, and BST2, IRF7, IFI16 and MX1 expression levels were significantly lower in coxsackie B virus (COXB) positive patients than the negative patients. Expression levels of one or more of BST2, IRF7, IFI16, TRIM21, MX1 and DDX58 genes were correlated with PCT levels, various white blood cell counts, and serum antibody levels that reflect disease course of HFMD. Aspartate aminotransferase was correlated with BST2, MX1 and DDX58 expression levels. Conclusions: PRR-associated genes likely initiate the immune response in patients at the acute stage of HFMD.

188-190

Authors: Kia Jahanbin, Mohammad Jokar, Vahid Rahmanian

None.