The role of prostaglandins in interleukin-1 induced gastroparesis.

Interleukin-1 is a small molecular weight peptide that is thought to mediate much of the acute phase response to infection, including fever and anorexia and gastric stasis. In the present study, we examined the effects of recombinant human IL-1 alpha (rhIL-1a) on food intake and gastric emptying, and the role of prostaglandins (PG) in IL-1 induced gastroparesis. We report that pretreatment with ibuprofen significantly improved food intake and gastric emptying in IL-1 injected rats, but did not return them to control levels. We conclude that PGs mediate, at least in part, IL-1 induced gastroparesis. The role of gastroparesis in IL-1 induced anorexia remains to be determined.