Production of human alpha- and gamma-interferon is dependent on age and sex and is decreased in rheumatoid arthritis: a simple method for a large-scale assay.
We examined host ability to produce alpha- and gamma-interferon on a large scale by culturing 2 ml of peripheral blood for 20 hr with Sendai virus or concanavalin A as inducer of alpha- or gamma-interferon, respectively. Production of gamma- but not alpha-interferon was lower in females (n = 351) than in males (n = 531) (P less than 0.001). Both alpha- and gamma-interferon production declined gradually with ageing. The production of alpha-interferon (3,233 +/- 1,773 IU/ml) and gamma-interferon (19 +/- 20 IU/ml) in rheumatoid arthritis patients was significantly lower than the values found in total and age-matched healthy donors (P less than 0.01). These results suggest that interferon production is dependent on age and sex and is significantly lower in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Kita
M
M
Department of Virology, Institut Pasteur de Kyoto, Japan.
Shiozawa
S
S
Yamaji
M
M
Kitoh
I
I
Kishida
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D003208:Concanavalin A; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010222:Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human; D012737:Sex Factors
D007370:Interferon Type I; D003208:Concanavalin A; D007371:Interferon-gamma