Interleukin 1 alpha production by peripheral blood monocytes from patients with chronic liver disease and effect of sera on interleukin 1 alpha production

We investigated the role of interleukin 1 alpha (IL 1 alpha) in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease. IL 1 alpha production by peripheral blood monocytes was measured with a specific, sensitive double-antibody radioimmunoassay. When monocytes were cultured for two days with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), IL 1 alpha production in asymptomatic hepatitis B virus carrier (ASC) and patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) was equivalent to that of controls (168 +/- 31 U/ml, mena +/- SD), while IL 1 alpha levels generated by monocytes from liver cirrhosis (LC) (117 +/- 45 U/ml, p less than 0.01) were significantly lower than controls. When normal monocytes were cultured together with LPS and IFN gamma, mena IL 1 alpha production was 297 +/- 56 U/ml. IL 1 alpha production in ASC did not differ from controls. On the other hand, IL 1 alpha production in patients with CAH (241 +/- 58 U/ml, p less than 0.05) and LC (189 +/- 70 U/ml, p less than 0.01) were significantly diminished in comparison with controls although there was considerable overlap. Serial study demonstrated that IL 1 alpha production rose significantly during acute deterioration of illness with marked rise in serum alanine aminotransferase. The addition of sera to normal monocytes cultures resulted in significantly enhanced suppression (p less than 0.05) for IL 1 alpha production in comparison with that of control sera. These findings indicate that decreased monocyte function and serum inhibitor(s) for IL 1 alpha production could contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease.