Increased serum levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in patients with Kawasaki disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether serum levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) increase in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) and also correlate with other inflammatory indices.

METHODS: Serum samples from 10 patients with KD, 15 normal healthy subjects, and seven febrile control subjects were assayed for MIF by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the serum levels of MIF in the acute stage of KD [113.06 (range 20.6-157.36) ng/mL] compared with those in the subacute stage [28.11 (8.57-143.48) ng/mL, p<0.01], normal controls [12.95 (8.40-18.67) ng/mL, p<0.001], and febrile controls [36.58 (21.31-59.67) ng/mL, p = 0.01]. The increase in MIF correlated with an increase in interleukin-6 (IL-6) (r = 0.52, p = 0.047).

CONCLUSION: MIF may be a useful marker in the acute stage of KD and may provide important clues to the pathogenesis of this disease.