A comparative study on proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-17A and interleukin-17F expressions in whole blood of patients with COVID-19

Sep 29, 2026

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, is linked to heightened inflammatory signaling. Interleukin-17 is among the inflammatory cytokines reported at elevated levels in blood. This study evaluated mRNA expression of IL-17A, IL-17F, and TNF-α in whole blood of COVID-19 patients versus healthy controls, using quantitative PCR, across asymptomatic, mild, and severe groups.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages10

Reading Time25 min

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Abstract

Background and Objectives

Materials and Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

| | RIGINAL ARTICLE | | --- | --- | | | O | Volume 17 Number 6 (December 2025) 1049-1058 DOI: [http://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v17i6.20376](http://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v17i6.20376) A comparative study on proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-17A and interleukin-17F expressions in whole blood of patients with COVID-19 Zeynab Rahni1,2, Seyed Reza Mohebbi3*, Seyed Masoud Hosseini2, Shahrzad Shoraka2, Kambiz Nabati2, Mahsa Saeedi Niasar4, Shabnam Shahrokh3, Amir Sadeghi3, Mohammad Reza Zali3 1Department of Molecular Virology, Basic and Molecular Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2Department of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran 3Department of Medical Virology, Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Received: August 2024, Accepted: September 2025 | ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has expanded rapidly to all over the world. Interleukin-17 is one of the inflammatory cytokines which is highly expressed in the blood of individuals with COVID-19. Our aim in the present survey was to assess the mRNA expression levels of cytokine IL-17A, IL-17F and TNF-α in the blood of COVID-19 patients compared with healthy control individuals.
Materials and Methods: A total of 69 patients including 32 mild patients, 20 severe and 17 asymptomatic patients in comparison with 25 healthy controls were evaluated. To measure the expression profile of IL-17A and IL-17F in whole blood, quantitative PCR was used.
Results: Asymptomatic, mild, and severe SARS-CoV-2 infections were found to have significantly higher levels of IL-17A and IL-17F mRNAs than the healthy group (fold change IL-17A: 3.778; p= 0.002, 4.003; p= 0.001, 2.608; p= 0.0001 respectively, fold change IL-17F: 2.967; p= 0.003, 3.819; p= 0.001, 2.617; p= 0.0012 respectively) . TNF-α mRNA expression was also measured, which shows an approximately similar increase compared to IL-17 (fold change: 2.726; p= 0.002, 2.383; P= 0.001, 2.631; p= 0.001, respectively) .
Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection severity was associated with blood levels of IL-17A and IL-17F mRNA.
Keywords: COVID-19; Gene expressionss; Cytokines; Interleukin-17; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha | | --- | | *Corresponding author: Seyed Reza Mohebbi, Ph.D, Department of Medical Virology, Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel:+98-2122432525 Fax: +98-2122432517 Email: [sr.mohebbi@sbmu.ac.ir](sr.mohebbi@sbmu.ac.ir) | Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International license ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)). Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION A novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus was initially identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 in the respiratory systems of pneumonia patients. SARS-CoV-2 is an unsegmented RNA virus with a genome size of 29.9 kb (1-3). Spike protein is a transmembrane protein found on the virus's outer surface, which helps the vi

FAQs

What cytokines were measured in this study?

The study measured mRNA expression levels of IL-17A, IL-17F, and TNF-α in whole blood.

How was IL-17A and IL-17F expression assessed?

Quantitative PCR was used to measure the expression profile of IL-17A and IL-17F in whole blood.

What relationship did the results show between disease severity and IL-17A/IL-17F?

SARS-CoV-2 infection severity was associated with increased IL-17A and IL-17F mRNA levels in blood, compared with healthy controls.

Sep 29, 2026

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