Increased production of interleukin-10 in children with Down syndrome upon ex vivo stimulation with Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased susceptibility to infections, due to altered humoral and/or cellular immunity. The aim of the study was to determine the cytokine production in whole blood of children with DS upon stimulation with heat-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in comparison with their healthy siblings.

Methods: Whole blood of 61 children with DS and 57 of their healthy siblings was stimulated with 200 ng/ml LPS and 4 × 10(7) colony-forming units/ml S.