Urinary evaluation of the balance between the soluble interferon-gamma receptor (IFN-gammaR1) and the interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4Ralpha) in children with vesicoureteral reflux.

We planned to investigate the urinary soluble cytokine receptor profile in patients with vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR). The urine levels of soluble interferon-gamma receptor R1 (sIFN-gammaR) and soluble interleukin-4 receptor alpha (sIL-4R) were measured using an ELISA technique. The urine levels of sIFN-gammaR in the patients with VUR were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (p < 0.001). On the other hand, although the urine sIL-4R levels in the patients with VUR were also higher than those in the controls, there were no significant differences between them. The urinary soluble receptor levels did not correlate with the clinical severity of VUR. These results suggest that there may be an immunological basis to VUR complicatedly.