To investigate whether murine CMV (MCMV) infection causes alterations in placental IL-6/10 and TLR2/4 levels, we analyzed the dynamic changes in gene expression of TLR2/4 and IL-6/10 in placentas following acute MCMV infection.
In conclusion, the analyzed IL1A -889 C>T, IL1B +3954 C>T, and IL6 -174 G>C polymorphisms may be associated with the occurrence and development of HCMV infection among studied patients.
In in vitro study, HCMV infection induced the expression of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in human glioblastoma U87 MG (U87) cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).
Although further investigation is required to clarify the association between IL-6 level and CMV infection in more patients, IL-6 might be a useful biomarker of persistent CMV infection after allogeneic HSCT.
In conclusion, these results suggest that active HCMV infection in the intestine is very frequent in patients with IBD, and may contribute to the inflammatory process through an increased production of IL-6.