Increased concentration of interferon lambda-3, interferon beta and interleukin-10 in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has a wide clinical spectrum, from asymptomatic to severe encephalitis, and host-dependent factors determining the outcome remain elusive. We have measured concentrations of pro-inflammatory/Th1 interferon-gamma (IFN gamma), immunomodulatory/Th2 interleukin-10 (IL-10), anti-viral type I (IFN beta) and type III (IFN lambda 3) interferons in cerebrospinal fluid (csf) and serum of 18 TBE patients, simultaneously genotyped for polymorphisms associated with the expression of genes IFNL3 (coding IFN lambda 3), IL10, CD209 and CCR5. IL-10, IFN beta and IFN lambda 3 were up-regulated in csf, with IFN lambda 3 level higher in patients with the milder clinical presentation (meningitis) than in meningoencephalitis. There was an increased serum IFN beta and a tendency for increased serum IL-10 in meningitis patients. Genotype in rs12979860 locus upstream of IFNL3 was associated with IFN lambda 3 expression and in rs287886 (CD209) IL-10 expression. IL-10, IFN beta and IFN lambda 3 are expressed and play a protective role in TBE and their expression in TBE patients is associated with genetic polymorphisms. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.