Expression of Circulatory Interleukin-6 Concentration Associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Persistence in Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

Background: The main superfamily cytokine member is interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6, promptly produced in response to infections and tissue injuries, contributes to host defense through the stimulation of acute phase responses, hematopoiesis, and immune reactions. Objectives: To investigate the role of IL-6 as a biomarker in recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTIs). The real-time polymerase chain reactions were performed by using specific primers with reference gene GAPDH and the target genes IL-6. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was done in Babylon city hospital from February 2021 to March 2022. A total of 110 patients with RUTIs with different age and sex, and healthy individuals as control group were enrolled in this study. Midstream urine was taken for culturing and identification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Blood samples were obtained from all the patients and the secreted IL-6 levels were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RNA was extracted for gene expression. Results: The expression of IL-6 was increased more than % 30-fold in UTIs compared with control group. Also, the results found that serum concentrations of IL-6 detected by ELISA assay showed significant differences at P < 0.001 for the patients compared with control group. Conclusions: Interleukin-6 gene expression shows up regulation in RUTI caused by P. aeruginosa.