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Interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), IL‐1 receptor antagonist, and TNFα production in whole blood
Author(s) -
Nerad Judith L.,
Griffiths Jeffrey K.,
Jos W.M,
Endres Stefan,
Poutsiaka Debra D.,
Keusch Gerald T.,
Bennish Michael,
Salam Mohammed A.,
Dinarello Charles A.,
Can Joseph G.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of leukocyte biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.819
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1938-3673
pISSN - 0741-5400
DOI - 10.1002/jlb.52.6.687
Subject(s) - whole blood , biology , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , cytokine , tumor necrosis factor alpha , receptor antagonist , interleukin 1 receptor antagonist , immunology , in vitro , receptor , interleukin , pharmacology , antagonist , andrology , medicine , biochemistry
Abstract The ability of an individual to mount defense responses to infection depend in part on the capacity to produce cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL‐1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). The specialized equipment, labor intensity, and sterile practice required for the standard in vitro evaluation of cytokine production can make such evaluation impractical in some clinical situations. We report a method for stimulating whole blood to produce cytokines that can be implemented in laboratories without tissue culture facilities and requires minimal sample preparation. IL‐1β and TNFβ production in whole blood samples was stimulated with endotoxin and/or phyto‐ hemagglutinin in standard EDTA‐containing vacuum collection tubes. After incubation, plasma was removed and frozen for later assay. Comparison of this whole blood method with isolated mononuclear cell cultures indicated a significant correlation for IL‐1β production (r = 0.746, β = 0.005). This technique also produced the newly described cytokine, IL‐1 receptor antagonist. We conclude that the whole blood method is an acceptable alternative to isolated cell culture methods for measuring IL‐1β in situations that preclude the standard in vitro approach.