Chronic effects of long-term acetate-free biofiltration on the production of interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist by peripheral blood mononuclear cells

The production of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was examined in patients on long-term acetate-free biofiltration (AFB), Five stable patients on AFB were switched to bicarbonate hemodialysis (BCD) for a 2-week period using the same AN69 membrane dialyzer. IL-1 beta and IL-1Ra production was measured by ELISA before and after dialysis in the last session of both treatments. Cytokine production by unstimulated PBMC did not differ significantly before and after both AFB and BCD, However, the spontaneous IL-1Ra/IL-1 beta production ratio in AFB was significantly higher than that in BCD. These findings indicate that AFB may have more beneficial effects on cytokine production by PBMC compared to BCD.