Cytokine production in a whole-blood assay after Epstein-Barr virus infection in vivo.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has a marked tropism for cells of the immune system, and infection can result in profound immunomodulatory effects. In order to examine the role of cytokines during the acute phase of infectious mononucleosis, we studied the levels of different interleukins (ILs), interferons (IFNs), and the soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in serum samples of 20 patients. We found elevated levels of IL-2, IL-6, sIL-2R, and IFN-gamma. Whereas the peak of IL-2 and IL-6 concentration occurred during the first week (P < 0.01), the largest amounts of sIL-2R were measured during the second week (P < 0.01). IFN-gamma levels were only enhanced during the first week. In addition, we investigated the ability to produce cytokines in response to mitogenic stimulation in a whole-blood assay of 11 patients compared with healthy blood donors. In the whole-blood assay of patients compared with controls after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, we measured more than 10-fold elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (P < 0.01), 3-fold elevated levels of IL-1 beta (P < 0.01), and about 2-fold increased amounts of IL-6 (P < 0.01). A significant enhancement in sIL-2R and IFN-gamma concentration was found in the assay after stimulation with phytohemagglutinin after 24 h of incubation (P < 0.01). Collectively, our data seem to indicate that monocytes are strongly activated during infectious mononucleosis. Monocytes and monocyte-derived factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of infectious mononucleosis and, together with T lymphocytes, may be partly responsible for clinical symptoms.