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Detection of tumor necrosis factor‐α in bone marrow plasma and peripheral blood plasma from patients with aplastic anemia
Author(s) -
Schultz John C.,
Shahidi Nasrollah T.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/ajh.2830450106
Subject(s) - medicine , tumor necrosis factor alpha , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , aplastic anemia , bone marrow , interferon gamma , alpha (finance) , cytokine , immunology , endocrinology , biology , surgery , in vitro , biochemistry , construct validity , patient satisfaction
Plasma levels of interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) were determined in healthy individuals and patients with aplastic anemia (ApAn). IFN‐γ was not detected in normal peripheral blood plasma (PBP) or bone marrow plasma (BMP) and was present in PBP from only 2 of 22 patients and in BMP from 1 of 14 patients and the levels were low (< 1.5 U/ml). Elevated levels of TNF‐α were present in BMP and PBP from patients but not in control (healthy donor) PBP and BMP. Eleven of twenty‐four patients had elevated levels of TNF‐α in their PBP and 6 of 13 patients had detectable levels of TNF‐α in their BMP. Only one of the 14 healthy control donors had detectable TNF‐α and the level was very low (7 pg/ml), while 13 of the 27 ApAn patients had detectable TNF‐α ( P = .009, chi‐square test). Not surprisingly, the centers of the distributions of TNF‐α concentrations of the controls and ApAn patients differed significantly ( P < .017 for control and patient PBP and P < .056 for control and patient BMP, Wilcoxon rank‐sum test). Spontaneous production of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α by cultured bone marrow mononuclear cells was observed in four of seven patients but not in the six healthy controls ( P = 0.026). Spontaneous production of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α by cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients and controls was however similar. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)‐induced production of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α by cultured mononuclear cells did not differ significantly between ApAn patients and normal controls. The significance of overproduction of TNF‐α in the pathophysiology of ApAn is discussed. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.