PRODUCTION OF TUMOR-NECROSIS-FACTOR, INTERLEUKIN-1, AND INTERFERON-GAMMA BY PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS FROM PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY BILIARY-CIRRHOSIS

Since patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) have evidence of abnormal function of the immune system, we evaluated production of various cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocytes from patients with this disease, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean amounts of production of tumor necrosis factor α(TNFα), interleukin 1β (IL1β), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) by PBMCs from patients with PBC tended to be increased in cultures in the presence of stimulating agents in comparison with controls, but there was no significant difference because of a wide scatter of results. Monocytes from PBC patients also tended to produce higher amounts of TNFα and IL1β than control monocytes did, although the percentage of monocytes in PBMCs was similar in PBC and controls. A significant correlation was found between TNFα production and IL1β production in PBC patients. The number of TNFα or IFN-γ positive infiltrating mononuclear cells detected by immunohistochemical staining in liver biopsy sections correlated with the production of these cytokines by PBMCs in vitro. However, cytokine production did not correlate with serum biochemical or hepatic histologic findings, except for serum alkaline phosphatase values. In patients with type B chronic active hepatitis, IL1β and IFN-γ production was similar to controls, while TNFα production tended to be enhanced. Thus the cytokines studied here may play some role in the pathogenesis of PBC. © 1990.