Serum chemerin level, cytokine profile and nutritional status in children with cystic fibrosis

Katarzyna Sznurkowska; Katarzyna Kaźmierska; Tomasz  Śledziński; Maciej Zagierski; Anna Liberek; Agnieszka Szlagatys-Sidorkiewicz

doi:10.18388/abp.2019_2858

Katarzyna Sznurkowska Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Allergology and Nutrition, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2502-0027
Katarzyna Kaźmierska Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Allergology and Nutrition, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8770-4857
Tomasz Śledziński Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9028-3790
Maciej Zagierski Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Allergology and Nutrition, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4572-6257
Anna Liberek Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5598-0681
Agnieszka Szlagatys-Sidorkiewicz Faculty of Health Sciences with Subfaculty of Nursing, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Poland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18388/abp.2019_2858

Abstract

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized by malnutrition and chronic inflammation predominantly occurring in lungs. Evidence suggests a relation between inflammatory activity and nutritional status. Proinflammatory cytokines, playing crucial role in pulmonary destruction in CF, are regarded as a component of the pathogenesis of illness-related malnutrition. Chemerin - a novel marker of a crosstalk between nutrition and inflammation, has not been investigated in children with cystic fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine serum level of chemerin, interleukin-1b (IL-1b), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosing factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and to verify if they correlate with the nutritional status in children with CF. Methods: The study included 72 pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis. The control group was comprised of 30 healthy children. Nutritional status parameters: Body Mass Index (BMI), fat mass percentage (FM %) and fat free mass percentage (FFM%) have been assessed in all the subjects basing on bioimpedance and anthropometry according to Slaughter. Serum concentrations of chemerin and cytokines were estimated with ELISA. Results: No statistically significant difference in serum chemerin was found between the studied and the control group. We have documented a significantly higher level of IL-1b, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10 in CF patients when compared to healthy controls. Neither the chemerin nor the cytokine levels correlated with parameters of nutritional status in our cohort. No statistically significant correlation was found between the serum chemerin and the inflammatory cytokines: IL-1b, IL-6, and TNFα. Conclusions: Our results show that chemerin is not associated with the nutritional status in children with cystic fibrosis. Chemerin has no impact on the levels of IL-1b, IL-6, TNFα in CF patients. IL-1b, IL6, TNFα and also IL10 are upregulated in cystic fibrosis.