[Interleukin 6 activities and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in serum of patients with Kawasaki disease].

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) activities and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels in serum were determined in 25 patients with Kawasaki disease (KD), 9 with measles, 8 with anaphylactoid purpura (AP), and in healthy children. IL-6 activity in the sera was assayed by a colorimetric assay using a murine IL-6-dependent hybridoma clone, MH60. BSF-2. Serum levels of TNF-alpha were measured by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay. IL-6 activity in the sera of patients with KD and measles was seen to increase during the acute stage. However, IL-6 activity in the sera of AP patients did not increase during the active stage. IL-6 activity in the sera of KD patients correlated with serum CRP levels and the maximum platelet counts during the course of illness. Serum TNF-alpha levels in patients with KD and AP but not measles increased during the acute stage. Since the pathogenesis of KD is systemic vasculitis with severe inflammation and thrombocytosis, the combination of IL-6, which may be responsible for severe inflammation, and TNF-alpha, which may be responsible for severe vascular injury, does play an important role in acute KD.