Assessment of the Levels of Interleukin-10, Tumor Necrosis-α, and Interferon-γ in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infected Patients

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate differences in serum levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-10 IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha TNF-α, and interferon-gamma IFN-γ) in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) between hospitalized and mild SARS-COV-2 infected patients. Materials and Methods: the samples were collected from 60 SARS-COV-2 infected patients at the laboratories of Al Amal-Hospital for Communicable Diseases and Department of Public Health in the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment from the first of January to the first of May with ages ranging from 20 to 80 years comprising 38 males and 22 females were included in the study. Fifty healthy individuals without any signs or symptoms of the disease were selected as a normal control group. According to the severity of the disease, infected individuals were grouped into three groups: mild cases (29), severe cases (18), and critical cases (13). Results: The results revealed that of the 60 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected patients, 13 patients had critical symptoms, 29 patients had mild symptoms, and 18 patients had severe symptoms of COVID-19 disease. Among 60 patients, the ages ranging from 20 to 80 years, of these 38 (63%) were males and 22 (37%) were females. A high significant elevation in the level of serum IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in COVID-19 patients compared with healthy control groups (IL-10 = 47.72 ± 12.53 and 0.91 ± 0.66 pg/mL, P < 0.001; TNF-α = 52.17 ± 13.75 and 0.98 ± 0.70 pg/mL, P < 0.001; and IFN-γ = 90.14 ± 58.23 and 0.49 ± 0.693 ng/mL, P < 0.001). The most important noticeable was a decrease in IFN-γ levels from mild to critical groups of patients with COVID-19 and serum levels of TNF-α and IL-10 were significantly increased in severe and critical COVID-19 patients compared with healthy controls. Conclusion: This study concludes that IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ levels might have a crucial role in determining the severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients.