Selective enhancement of interleukin 1 beta production in myelomonocytic cell lines by insulin and its related cytokines.

The production of interleukin 1 (IL-1) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated myelomonocytic cell lines ML-1, THP-1 and PL-21 was significantly enhanced by the addition of insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I or IGF-II into the cell cultures. The IL-1 activity in the supernatants from cell cultures stimulated with LPS and insulin was completely neutralized by anti-IL-1 beta antibody. Anti-IL-1 alpha antibody had no inhibitory effect. Insulin itself did not stimulate IL-1 beta production directly, but increased it in the mitogen activated cells. However, insulin had no enhancing effect on the production of IL-1 alpha by human T cell lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I)-infected T cell lines or on IL-2 production by mitogen-stimulated leukemia T cell lines. Thus, insulin and its related cytokines are shown here as other molecules selectively modulating the production of IL-1 beta in myelomonocytic cell lines.