title: Influence of spaceflight on the production of interleukin-3 and interleukin-6 by rat spleen and thymus cells.
abstract: Six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were flown on the 7-day US space shuttle mission STS-54. After flight, the spleen and thymus from each animal were assayed for the capacity to secrete the cytokines interleukin-3 (IL-3) and IL-6. Spleen and thymus cells (5 x 10(6)/ml) were incubated for 48 h in the presence of 5 micrograms/ml of concanavalin A or 2 micrograms/ml of bacterial lipopolysaccharide to stimulate the production of IL-3 and IL-6. IL-3 activity was measured using the IL-3/colony-stimulating-factor-dependent cell line 32D. IL-6 activity was measured using the IL-6-dependent cell line 7TD1. Spleen and thymus cells harvested from flown rats secreted significantly higher titers of biologically active IL-3 compared with ground control rats. Spaceflight significantly enhanced IL-6 production by thymus, but not spleen, cells. The results of this study demonstrate that spaceflight can enhance the production of certain cytokines by cells of the immune system.
authors.affiliation: Medical Immunotherapy Laboratory, Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Amarillo, Texas 79106, USA.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Koebel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sonnenfeld
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013026:Space Flight; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007377:Interleukin-3; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D003208:Concanavalin A