TY  - EJOU
AU  - Röntgen, Philipp 
AU  - Sablotzki, Armin 
AU  - Simm, Andreas 
AU  - Silber, Rolf-Edgar 
AU  - Czeslick, Elke 

TI  - Effect of catecholamines on intracellular cytokine synthesis in human monocytes
T2  - European Cytokine Network

PY  - 2004
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
SN  - 1952-4005

AB  - Proinflammatory cytokines produced by monocytes, like Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8),
and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) are known for their pivotal role in the initiation of the inflammatory response
following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Catecholamines like epinephrine (Epi) and norepinephrine (Nor) are
often necessary to stabilize the cardiac function in the early postoperative period and may influence the cytokine
expression in monocytes.<br/>
In this study we investigated the effects of Epi and Nor on IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α expression in human monocytes
stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in whole blood, analyzed intracellularly by flow cytometry. Kinetics of
intracellular proinflammatory cytokine production and LPS ED<sub>50</sub> were obtained. To simulate different stages of
inflammation in vivo, varying concentrations of LPS (0.2 ng/ml, 1 ng/ml and 10 ng/ml) were used for stimulation.
After a stimulation with LPS TNF-α was the first produced cytokine, followed by IL-8 and IL-6. All cytokines
peaked from 3 h to 6 h. Epi and Nor had comparable effects on the expression of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in
monocytes. Both inhibited IL-6 and TNF-α expression in a concentration dependent manner whereas IL-8
expression remained unchanged.<br/>
We conclude that monocytes are targets for Epi and Nor concerning their cytokine expression. The inhibiting
effects of Nor and Epi were almost identical for all cytokines. Cytokine expression was affected most at low LPS
concentrations.
KW  - proinflammatory cytokines
KW  -  monocytes
KW  -  flow cytometry
KW  -  catecholamines

DO  -