Exploring the Role of IL-2 and IL-17 Levels in Patients infected with Varicella-Zoster Virus in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf City

¹ Al-Najaf Health Directorate, Al-Sader Medical City, Najaf, Iraq
² Biology department, Faculty of Science, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq

^* Corresponding author: diyahamza022@gmail.com

Abstract

About 60 samples were collected from patients with varicella zoster, including 24 males and 36 females, as well as from healthy people, which included 29 samples (15 males and 14 females), aged between 15 and 60 years. Data were collected between November 2022 and July 2023. VZV patients were selected from Sadr Medical City and private laboratories. The research used ELISA technology to measure the immune biomarkers IL2 and IL17 pg/ml in the serum of patients and healthy controls. The majority of patients fell within the age groups of 26–34 years and 36–45 years, constituting approximately 25%, with a mean and standard deviation of 37.17 ± 12.38. Conversely, the control group mostly belonged to the age group of 25 years and above, representing about 34.48%, with a mean and standard deviation of 26.86 ± 4.74. The results revealed a significant increase (p≤0.05) in IL2 and IL17 levels in the varicella zoster virus (VZV) patient group compared to the control group. Importantly, no significant differences were observed between male and female VZV patients. A strong positive correlation was found between IL-17 and IL-2 levels, with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.768.