The influence of recombinant human erythropoietin on tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-10 production by whole blood cell cultures in hemodialysis patients

Impaired immunological response in hemodialysis (HD) patients, which leads to inappropriate cytokine production, is partially caused by the hyperstimulation of both T lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages. Recent data suggest that human recombinant erythropoietin (rhEPO) may have an immunological action. The goal of our study was to estimate the influence of rhEPO treatment on the production of the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor ct (TNF alpha) and antiinflammatory cytokin interleukin-10 (IL-10) in 10 HD patients receiving rhEPO for 6 months. The levels of cytokines were measured in the in vitro cultures of whole blood. The lever of IL-10 increased in all treated patients during the therapy, and it was accompanied by a transitory decrease of TNF alpha. The results of our studies suggest that rhEPO may reduce the inflammatory process by decreasing production of TNF alpha and increasing production of IL-10.