Interleukin-1 release from peripheral blood monocytes and soluble interleukin-2 and CD8 receptors in serum from patients with atopic dermatitis.

In 31 adult patients with atopic dermatitis, the capacity to secrete interleukin-1 (IL-1) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and from purified monocytes was investigated following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. We also measured soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels (sIL-2R) and CD-8 receptor in serum from some of the patients in order to estimate the degree of lymphocyte stimulation in vivo. We observed that purified monocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis released more IL-1 than unseparated blood mononuclear cells did and also had significantly greater IL-1 activity than non-atopic donors. Addition of histamine in concentrations of 10(-7) to 10(-4) M did not suppress, but rather augmented the IL-1 activity release. An increased monocyte-IL-1 release could lead to increased T lymphocyte activity. We observed that 60% of the patients had increased sIL-2R concentrations in serum. There was no correlation between serum IgE and sIL-2R. Our observations indicate that monocytes in atopic dermatitis patients release increased quantities of IL-1, supporting an augmented T lymphocyte activation in the patients.