Pierre BecquartNadia WauquierDieudonné NkogheAngélique Ndjoyi-MbiguinoCindy PadillaMarc SourisEric M. LeroyCentre International de Recherches Medicales de FrancevilleMaladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Genetique, Evolution et ControleInsermUniversité des Sciences de la SantéEmergence des Pathologies ViralesMahidol University2018-09-242018-09-242010-12-17BMC Infectious Diseases. Vol.10, (2010)147123342-s2.0-78650087190https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/29343Background: Dengue is now a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the tropics. We conducted the first ex vivo study of dengue fever (DF) in African patients infected during the first Gabonese dengue virus 2 (DENV-2) outbreak in 2007, in order to investigate cytokine production, including the antiviral cytokine IFN-α, reported to be a potent inhibitor of DENV replication in vitro.Methods: Levels of 50 cytokines, chemokines and growth factors were measured in plasma from 36 patients with DENV-2 infection, and in uninfected controls, using Luminex multiplex technology. The results were interpreted according to the day of sampling after symptom onset. PBMC from six patients were also studied for T lymphocyte cell surface marker expression by flow cytometry.Results: Acute DENV-2 infection elicited high levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-17), chemokines (MIF, RANTES, IP-10 and MCP-1) and growth factors (G-CSF, GM-CSF and VEGF-A). We also observed high levels of IFN-α for the first time in adult DF patients, and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell activation at symptom onset.Conclusion: Acute DENV-2 infection in African patients elicits a strong innate response involving IFN-α production, as well as an adaptive immune response. © 2010 Becquart et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Mahidol UniversityMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.1186/1471-2334-10-356