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BackgroundCo-infection between the human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) can modify the natural history of HCV infection. The aim of this study was to describe the inflammatory cytokines and IL-10 network in patients co-infected with HTLV and HCV viruses in Bahia, Brazil.MethodsSamples from 31 HTLV/HCV co-infected individuals and 27 HCV monoinfected individuals were evaluated. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-8, and IL-1 cytokines were quantified by ELISA. Clinical, laboratory data were obtained from patient records. Serum levels of the cytokines were log10-transformed and data mining was performed using Z-score statistics and correlation analysis.ResultsCo-infected individuals presented a tendency toward higher production of INF-γ compared to the HCV monoinfected group. Regarding cytokine pairs, there was a positive correlation (P-value < 0.05) between IL-1 and IL-8 in the HTLV/HCV co-infected group and uninfected controls, and two correlations in the HCV mono-infected group IL-8 – IL10 and IL- INF-γ – IL-10 pairs. There was no significant difference between the groups for the other parameters analyzed.ConclusionThe results presented herein indicated that HTLV/HCV co-infection was associated with a trend in IFN-γ production while HCV-infected individuals presented a positive correlation with both inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and IFN-γ) and the regulatory cytokine IL-10.

Tuberculosis is described during the use of monoclonal antibodies against tumour necrosis factor (TNF) for Crohn's disease treatment. We report a case of a 44 year old man that developed fever, night sweats and weight loss during immunosuppressive and anti-TNF therapy for Crohn's disease. After extensive investigation we performed mediastinoscopy with biopsy of the paratracheal lymph node. A histopathological study revealed caseous necrosis. The patient improved after therapy against tuberculosis. During anti-TNF therapy, the diagnosis of tuberculosis may be mainly difficult when an atypical location is present. Clinical skills are important mainly in countries where tuberculosis is endemic.