Circulating Interleukin-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor in Septic Shock and Experimental Endotoxin Fever

Abstract

Interleukins (IL) -1 beta and -1 alpha and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) were measured by radioimmunoassay in plasma samples from 44 healthy individuals, 15 patients in septic shock, and 6 volunteers infused with endotoxin. Plasma IL-1 alpha levels were low (40 pg/ml) or undetectable in all situations. In 67% of the healthy subjects, plasma IL-1 beta levels were less than 70 pg/ml. Septic patients had higher plasma IL-1 beta levels (120 +/- 17 pg/ml, P = .001); those of surviving patients were higher than those of patients who died (P = .05). Plasma TNF-alpha concentrations in septic individuals were elevated (119 +/- 30 pg/ml) and correlated with severity of illness (r = .73, P = .003), but no correlation was observed between plasma IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha concentrations in individual samples. Infusion of endotoxin caused a twofold elevation of IL-1 beta, from a baseline of 35 +/- 5 pg/ml to a maximum of 69 +/- 27 pg/ml at 180 min (P less than .05). Peak TNF-alpha levels after endotoxin infusion were 15 times higher than IL-1 beta levels, were attained more rapidly (90 min), and as with the septic patients, did not correlate with IL-1 beta levels. These data support the concept that plasma IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha concentrations are regulated independently and are associated with different clinical outcomes.

Pancreatic beta‐cell function and interleukin‐1β in plasma during the acute phase response in patients with major burn injuries

“…Similar to observations in children suffering from infectious purpura fulminans (Nesseria meningitidis) [40] and in patients with septic shock [25], high plasma levels of IL-I0 correlated with a fatal outcome in the present report. However, this is in contrast to a third study [23]. Lack of correlation between IL-Ip and TNFa is present in other studies [23,25,41], although this is controversial [40,42].…”

Relation between cytokines and routine laboratory data in children with septic shock and purpura

“…An important portion of the pathogenesis however is mediated by endogenous host factors, particularly cytokines [3]. In clinical studies, especially in SMD, the presence and concentration of TNF, IL-I, and IL-6 in serum turned out to be related to severity of disease and survival [2, [4][5][6][7][13][14][15][16]. Also the results in this study confirm the existence of a clear relation between the serum levels of TNF and IL-6 and both severity and survival of pediatric SMD-patients.…”

Effect of interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α on gene expression in human endothelial cells

“…In this study, we explored the response of HUVEC to the proinflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-1␤ (IL-1␤) and tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣), which are secreted by monocytes and macrophages during systemic inflammatory reactions after infection, inflammation, and tissue damage (18,25). Their plasma levels correlate significantly with the severity of septic shock and multiple organ failure (2,3,11), and they share many biological effects and have been implicated in several acute and chronic pathological states. However, attempts to blunt the systemic inflammatory response by blocking the effects of IL-1␤ or TNF-␣ with receptor agonists or antibodies in severe sepsis have not been successful in reducing overall mortality rate (5,20).…”