title: Soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors conserve TNF bioactivity in meningitis patient spinal fluid.
abstract: The content of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha antigen and the bioactivity of soluble TNF receptor type II (sTNF-RII) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 29 patients with meningeal symptoms and fever were examined. Immunoreactive TNF was demonstrated in CSF from 4 of 7 patients with bacterial meningitis. In 3 of 8 patients with aseptic meningitis, CSF also contained TNF, but TNF bioactivity was confined to samples from patients with bacterial meningitis. Bioactive TNF was exclusively in high-performance liquid chromatography fractions containing 30- to 60-kDa proteins. Lipopolysaccharide induced down-regulation, possibly after shedding of granulocyte surface membrane TNF-RII. Consistently, there was a statistically significant correlation between sTNF-RII and CSF leukocyte counts. Bioactive TNF was found only in CSF containing >1 ng of sTNF-RII/mL; samples without TNF bioactivity contained less sTNF-RII. Thus, a stabilizing effect of sTNF-RII on the oligomeric cytokine in vivo is plausible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital of Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ellermann-Eriksen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Storgaard
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Obel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bendtzen
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Petersen
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism; D008582:Meningitis, Aseptic / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha