Profiles of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum of rabbits after experimentally induced acute pancreatitis.

In a recent study we have demonstrated that interleukin 8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) serum levels correlate positively with the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP), induced by bile acid injected into the pancreatic duct of rabbits. In this article we describe the effect of an IL-10 analogue IT9302 and a monoclonal anti-IL-8 (mon. IL-8) antibody on the content of several pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum of rabbits, after induction of AP. We found that the serum content of inflammatory cytokines IL-8, IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) are increased during AP. Injection of IT9302 or mon. IL-8 antibody, diminish the concentration of these cytokines in the serum, with the exception that mon. IL-8 antibody actually increased the circulating level of MCP-1. In addition, intravenous administration of IT9302 increased the serum levels of IRAP, an IL-1beta receptor antagonistic cytokine. Furthermore, intravenous injection of mon. IL-8 antibody increased serum levels of IL-4. It can be concluded that both the human IL-10 analogue IT9302 and mon. IL-8 antibody are able to alter the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in rabbits suffering from experimentally induced AP. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.