Open AccessTumour necrosis factor‐alpha and interferon‐gamma production measured at the single cell level in normal and inflamed human intestine
Author(s) -
MACDONALD T. T.,
HUTCHINGS P.,
CHOY M.Y.,
MURCH S.,
COOKE A.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1990.tb03334.x
Subject(s) - tumor necrosis factor alpha , interferon gamma , cytokine , inflammatory bowel disease , ulcerative colitis , alpha (finance) , immunology , medicine , pathology , inflammation , necrosis , biology , disease , construct validity , nursing , patient satisfaction
SUMMARY The spot‐ELISA technique has been used to enumerate the frequency of cells secreting tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), isolated from biopsies of normal intestine and from biopsies of children with inflammatory bowel disease. TNF‐α production was undetectable in six out of 12 biopsies from normal intestine and in the other six biopsies it ranged from 60 to 580 TNF‐α‐secreting cells/10 6 isolated intestinal cells. In contrast, cells isolated from biopsies of children with Crohn's disease ( n = 9) all showed elevated frequencies of TNF‐á‐secreting cells (500–12 000 secreting cells/10 6 cells). In ulcerative colitis, four out of eight children had increased production of TNF‐α and in children with indeterminate colitis two out of three had elevated levels. There was no correlation between plasma TNF‐α levels and the number of intestinal cells secreting TNF‐α. In controls and all groups of patients IFN‐γ‐secreting cells were uncommon. These results suggest that TNF‐α is an important mediator of inflammation in the human gut, and, furthermore, may play a role in the growth failure frequently seen in children with inflammatory bowel disease.