Objective: Sepsis remains a major cause of neonatal death. To better characterize the inflammatory response during neonatal sepsis, we compared the differences in serum cytokines and chemokines between full-term neonates with sepsis and without infection.
Methods: We enrolled 40 full-term neonates with sepsis and 26 full-term neonates without infection as controls between October 2016 and June 2018. Forty cytokines /chemokines in serum were analyzed using the Luminex Bead Immunoassay System.
Results: Our results showed that serum IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-1β, MIF, CXCL13, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL5, CXCL6, CXCL16, CCL27, CCL2, CCL8, CCL3, CCL20, CCL23, and CX3CL1 levels were significantly increased in neonates with sepsis compared to those in the control group (all p < 0.05). The levels of serum CCL20, and IL-17 were higher in late-onset sepsis (LOS) than those in early-onset sepsis (EOS) (all p < 0.05). Conversely, serum CXCL16 was lower in LOS than that in EOS (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings revealed that excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines might be involved in neonatal sepsis. In addition, chemokines significantly increased the recruitment of immune cells after infection to participate in the anti-infection defense of neonates, but this could lead to damage.
Keywords: neonatal sepsis, cytokines, chemokines