Kinetics of cortisol, interleukin-2 and interleukin-3-like activity levels following surgical intervention.
Cortisol, interleukin(IL)-2 and IL-3-like activity (IL-3-LA) levels were examined in two groups of patients before and after surgery. One group consisting of 11 patients underwent cholecystectomy; the other comprising 17 patients with malignant diseases of the gastrointestinal tract underwent a removal of the tumor. In both groups there were similar fluctuations in cortisol levels after surgery, i.e. a statistically significant increase at day 2 after operation with a decrease to normal values at day 14. The levels of IL-2 and IL-3-LA production in the two groups followed a different pattern. In patients with cholecystectomy the IL-2 and IL-3-LA levels showed a marked decrease at day 2 with a gradual increase on the following days. In cancer patients IL-2 was at its lowest level before surgery and started to increase gradually till day 14 after surgery. The lowest level of IL-3-LA was at day 2 after surgery and it increased gradually from day 7 to 14. It is suggested that the fluctuations of these two cytokines after surgery are related to the levels of corticosteroids which have been shown to inhibit the production of IL-2 and IL-3-LA in vitro. The observed increase of cortisol level with a concomitant decrease of IL-2 and IL-3-LA after surgery may further explain the immunosuppression observed after operation.
Fishman
P
P
Research Institute, Golda Medical Center, Hasharon Hospital, Petah-Tiqva, Israel.
Nedivi
R
R
Djaldetti
M
M
Sredni
B
B
Kayzer
S
S
Chaimoff
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative
D007376:Interleukin-2; D007377:Interleukin-3; D006854:Hydrocortisone