title: Analysis of systemic interleukin-11 after major trauma.
abstract: Recent data have shown that anti-inflammatory responses to major injury occur immediately after trauma. Interleukin 11 (IL-11), a member of the IL-6 family, is a pleiotropic cytokine with hematopoietic, osteotrophic, and mucosa protective properties, as well as anti-inflammatory functions. IL-11 inhibits synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, promotes a Th2-type immune response, and improves outcome after shock and sepsis in different animal models. To further investigate the role of IL-11 in the human posttraumatic immune response, we measured plasma levels of IL-11 in 216 multiple-injured patients (mean age of 40 +/- 16 [range 11-81] years; Injury Severity Score [ISS] of 31 +/- 11 [range 16-66] points; 52 women and 164 men) after injury and correlated this with demographics, clinical course, and other laboratory parameters. IL-11 was significantly elevated in polytraumatized patients compared with healthy donors (P <0.0001). The time course of IL-11 in surviving patients was an initial increase after trauma with a decrease during the first 4 weeks, whereas nonsurvivors (n=34) had a significant increase later after injury (4 weeks). IL-11 was significantly higher after abdominal trauma and in men. No correlation between systemic IL-11 and ISS or age was detected. IL-11 correlated significantly with other pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-18. Our data demonstrate elevated levels of systemic IL-11 after multiple injuries; however, the role of a posttraumatic increase of IL-11 has to be further analyzed. In contrast to IL-6, IL-11 in plasma does not correlate with trauma severity and seems to have no clinical relevance to outcome prediction after trauma.
authors.affiliation: BG Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Department of Surgery, Ruhr University Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany. christian.schinkel@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schinkel
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muhr
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D007249:Inflammation; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D017370:Interleukin-11 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014947:Wounds and Injuries
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D017370:Interleukin-11; D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein