Abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine serum levels of interleukin-13 (IL-13) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) pneumonia. METHODS: Eighty children with MP pneumonia complicated by wheezing or without (n=40 each), 40 children with pneumonia from non-MP infection and 40 healthy children were enrolled. Serum levels of IL-13 and TNF-α were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: The serum levels of IL-13 and TNF-α in the MP pneumonia group were significantly higher than those in non-MP pneumonia group and the healthy control group (P<0.01). The children with MP pneumonia complicated by wheezing had increased serum levels of IL-13 (214.6±67.2 ng/L vs 189.6±52.1 ng/L; P<0.01) and TNF-α(0.55±0.13 ng/mL vs 0.42±0.16 ng/mL; P<0.01)compared with those without wheezing. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in serum levels of IL-13 and TNF-α may play important roles in the pathogenesis of MP pneumonia and wheezing attack in children.［Chin J Contemp Pediatr, 2010, 12 (4):275-277］
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