Abstract

Background: Interleukin (IL)15 is a novel cytokine that induces T cell proliferation, B cell maturation, natural killer cell cytotoxicity, and may have a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disease, acting upstream from tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). Kawasaki disease (KD) is an inflammatory disease, in which serum levels of inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα and IL6 are increased.

Objective: To examine the serum levels of IL15 in KD and to evaluate the role of IL15 in estimating the severity of inflammation in KD.

Results and conclusion: There was a significant increase in the mean (SD) serum levels of IL15 measured in the acute stage of KD (11.5 (5.8) pg/ml) compared with those in the subacute stage (1.3 (0.9) pg/ml) (p<0.01) and normal controls (0.9 (1.0) pg/ml) (p<0.01). The increase in IL15 correlated with the increase in TNFα (r_s=0.66, p<0.01); however it did not correlate with the levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein, suggesting that IL15 may not be a useful marker in estimating the severity of inflammation in KD.