Age-Dependent Levels of Select Immunological Mediators in Sera of Healthy Children

Serum cytokine levels were measured in 275 healthy children of different ages (3 to 17 years). Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), soluble IL-2R (sIL-2R) (sCD25), IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), soluble TNF receptor type II (sTNF-RII) (sCD120b), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) (sCD54), soluble E selectin (sE-selectin) (ELAM-1; sCD62E), sCD14, and neopterin were measured with commercial test kits. The mean levels of IL-1RA, sIL-2R, TNF-alpha, sICAM-1, sE-selectin, and sCD14 were higher than in healthy adults. In contrast, IFN-gamma and IL-8 were hardly detectable in children and thereby significantly lower than in adults. In the case of TNF-alpha, sICAM-1, sE selectin, and sCD14, there was a high interindividual variability, apparently unrelated to disease. The profiles of some cytokines, i.e., IL-1RA, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, showed age-related increases that overlapped with known patterns of physical growth. Of note, sIL-2R and sE-selectin instead declined with time. Because of the remarkable age-dependent variability in healthy pediatric subjects, disease-related changes, as well as therapy-dependent alterations, should be considered with caution.