Elevation of serum interleukin-1β levels as a potential indicator for malarial infection and severe malaria: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Interleukin (IL)-1β is a proinflammatory cytokine that has a role in disease-related inflammation, including malaria. However, reports on the effect of IL-1β on malaria severity are inconsistent. Therefore, meta-analyses to compare differences in IL-1β levels between patients with severe malaria, patients with uncomplicated malaria and healthy controls were performed. Methods The PRISMA standards were used to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis. A search of PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE and reference lists was conducted for articles providing data on IL-1β levels between patients with severe malaria, patients with uncomplicated malaria and healthy controls between January 1988 and March 2022, using a combination of search terms. The quality of all studies included in this review was determined using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. The evidence was synthesized quantitatively and qualitatively. The differences in IL-1 levels across participant groups were recounted narratively for qualitative synthesis. For quantitative synthesis, the mean difference in IL-1β levels across groups of participants was calculated using a random effects meta-analysis. The publication bias was assessed using funnel plots, Egger’s test and a contour-enhanced funnel plot. Results A total of 1281 articles were discovered, and the 17 that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included for syntheses. The meta-analysis results using data from 555 cases of severe malaria and 1059 cases of uncomplicated malaria showed that severe malaria had a higher mean of IL-1β levels than uncomplicated malaria (P < 0.01, pooled mean difference: 1.92 pg/mL, 95% confidence interval: 0.60–3.25 pg/mL, I2: 90.41%, 6 studies). The meta-analysis results using data from 542 cases of uncomplicated malaria and 455 healthy controls showed no difference in mean IL-1β levels between the two groups (P = 0.07, pooled mean difference: 1.42 pg/mL, 95% confidence interval: − 0.1–2.94 pg/mL, I2: 98.93%, 6 studies). Conclusion The results from the meta-analysis revealed that IL-1β levels were higher in patients with severe malaria than in patients with uncomplicated malaria; however, IL-1β levels were similar in patients with uncomplicated malaria and healthy controls. Based on the limitations of the number of studies included in the meta-analysis and high levels of heterogeneity, further studies are needed to conclude that differences in IL-1β levels can be useful for monitoring the malaria severity.

Cytoadhesion ofPlasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells changes the expression of cytokine-, histone- and antiviral protein-encoding genes in brain endothelial cells

“…A recent meta-analysis showed that serum IL1β levels are higher in patients with severe malaria than in patients with uncomplicated malaria. However, the level in patients with uncomplicated malaria was very similar to that of healthy controls (Mahittikorn et al, 2022). This observation fits very well with the results presented here.…”

Inflammatory cytokines as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of severe malaria in children in Ghana

“…In agreement, we observed that even though there was no significant difference in the pro-inflammatory levels between the SM and UM, the levels in the SM group seem to increase as that of the UM group decrease especially with IL-1β. These results are in line with several other observations that pro-inflammatory cytokines promote inflammation and tissue damage, which may imply that their levels correlate with malaria disease severity and death [ 11 , 14 , 26 ].…”

Stress-mediating Inflammatory Cytokine Profiling Reveals Unique Patterns in Malaria and Typhoid Fever Patients

“…This suggests that co-infection triggered immune suppression in our study which is consistent with the idea that co-infection can lead to immune exhaustion, where the immune system is unable to effectively respond to one or both of the pathogens. Interleukin (IL)-1β as a pro-inflammatory cytokine has a role in disease-related inflammation, including malaria and typhoid fever (32). However, reports on the effect of IL-1β on malaria severity are inconsistent.…”