title: Lack of aromatase improves cell-mediated immune response after burn.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persistent elevation of estrogens after injury or sepsis correlates with increased mortality and a pro-inflammatory state. Given that aromatase is elevated after injury, the enzyme's subsequent conversion of androstenedione and testosterone to estrone and estradiol may be a causative factor for this correlation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aromatase knockout (ArKO) and wild type female mice were subjected to a 15% total body surface area burn. The delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and splenocyte production of IL-6 and TNFalpha were examined 8 days later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Injury in wild type mice is associated with an impairment in the DTH response, as well as with an increase in IL-6 and TNFalpha production by stimulated splenocytes. However, for ArKO mice, the impairment in DTH was blunted and there was no difference in IL-6 production between sham- and burn-injured mice. Sham-injured ArKO mice produced nearly 50% more TNFalpha than wild type mice, while injury did not result in a significant increase in TNFalpha production for ArKO mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The complete deficiency in aromatase correlated with a decrease in the production of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and partial restoration of the DTH response after severe burn. However, a deficiency of aromatase did not effect TNFalpha production after injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60513, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Plackett
authors.forename: Orhan K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Oz
authors.forename: Evan R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kovacs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001141:Aromatase / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D002056:Burns / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D013154:Spleen / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D001141:Aromatase