Increased interleukin-6 levels in nasal lavage samples following experimental influenza A virus infection.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleotropic cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of local inflammation during viral upper respiratory infections. This study determined if experimental influenza A virus infection causes local IL-6 production. Seventeen healthy, adult subjects were intranasally inoculated, by course drops, with a safety-tested strain of influenza A/Kawasaki/86 (H1N1) virus. Nasal lavage samples were collected, symptoms were recorded, and expelled nasal secretions were weighed once before and then daily for 8 days after the virus inoculation. Lavage samples were submitted for virus culture and were examined for IL-6 and IL-4 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The IL-6, but not IL-4, levels were significantly increased in the nasal lavage samples of the 12 subjects who shed virus but not in those of the 5 subjects who did not shed virus. Moreover, the elevations in IL-6 levels were related temporally to the development of nasal symptoms and secretions but not to systemic symptoms. These results suggest a role for locally produced IL-6 in the pathogenesis and expressed symptomatology of influenza A virus infection.
Gentile
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Department of Pediatrics, The Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. gentild@chplink.chp.edu
Doyle
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Whiteside
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Fireman
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Hayden
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Skoner
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D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000032:analysis; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis*; D017817:Nasal Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000150:complications; D013997:Time Factors
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015850:Interleukin-6; D015847:Interleukin-4