The pathogenesis and progression of rheumatoid arthritis involves the production of biologically active lymphokines and monokines. Of these, interleukin 1 (IL-1) has been somewhat of a controversial molecule because it seems to evoke various biological responses in several different tissues. In these studies we demonstrate that three biological properties of human monocyte-derived IL-i (T-lymphocyte activation and human synovial cell prostaglandin E2 and collagenase production) co-purify. The complementary DNA for the prominent pI 7 form of human IL-1 was expressed, purified, and tested. Any controversy now appears resolved since homogeneous recombinant human IL-1 stimulates prostaglandin E2 and collagenase from human synovial cells as well as activates T cells in vitro.
Interleukin 1 (IL-1) possesses multiple biological activities that may be blocked selectively by different inhibitors. Some known inhibitors block the lymphocyte activating factor (LAF/IL-1) but not the mononuclear cell factor (MCF/IL-1) measured by its capacity to stimulate prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and colingenase production. The presence of IL-1 in vivo may be difficult to detect due to the presence of inhibitor(s) and the level of the inhibitor(s) may vary depending upon pathological conditions. We have found that urine from three patients with monocytic leukemia (M5) contained high levels of inhibitor(s) of MCF/II-1, whereas urine of normal subjects did not contain significant amounts. Urine from two patients with other blood neoplasic diseases also contained little inhibitory activity. The MCF/IL-1 inhibitor(s), which also acts on human recombinant IL-1 ft, is -25-35 kD, is not retained on concanavalin A-Sepharose column and can be partially destroyed with urea and boiling. At this stage of the purification the fraction containing the MCF/IL-1 inhibitor(s) also inhibits the LAF/IL-1 assay. However, this inhibitor(s) is probably distinct from other inhibitors already described.
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