Increased Urine Interleukin-1 Levels in Aging

Abstract

Our laboratory previously noted an increase in thymocyte mitogenic activity in the urine of many elderly patients. The present study was performed to verify this finding and to determine if this activity was actually due to an increase in interleukin-1 (IL-1). IL-1 levels were measured in the urine of 33 healthy, ambulatory, elderly subjects (ages 83-95 years), using both a murine thymocyte bioassay, measuring activation by the incorporation of tritiated thymidine and an MTT dye reduction assay. There was a significant increase in urine IL-1 in 85% of elderly individuals. In the MTT dye reduction assay, mean elderly urine IL-1 levels were 0.88 U/ml, in comparison with a young control group (ages 23-37 years) in which urine IL-1 levels were very low (mean IL-1 ≤0.05 U/ml). Urine levels of IL-1β were also measured by using a sensitive immunoassay (ELISA) and were found to be significantly increased in the elderly (mean = 57.4 pg/ml), compared to the young (mean = 2.5 pg/ml). In contrast, IL-2 levels in urine were very low, with no difference between the young and the elderly. Mean urine protein and creatinine levels did not differ significantly between young and old, and did not account for the increase in urine IL-1 levels. Although its immunologic significance is not yet understood, this striking increase in IL-1 is an unusual and interesting finding that merits further investigation.

Drug‐disease interactions: reduced β‐adrenergic and potassium channel antagonist activities of sotalol in the presence of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions in the rat

“…Decreased sensitivity of calcium channels to verapamil in rheumatoid arthritis (Mayo et al, 2000), in older individuals (Abernethy et al, 1993) and in obese hypertensive patients (Abernethy & Schwartz, 1988) have also been reported. Increased expression of pro-in¯ammatory cytokines in these subjects (Bruunsgaard et al, 1999;Liao et al, 1993;Visser et al, 1999;Mayo et al, 2000) may explain these reduced sensitivities.…”

Critical role of the liver CD8+ CD122+ T cells in the generalized Shwartzman reaction of mice

“…The mechanisms of such vulnerability to infections in the elderly have been ascribed to a breakdown in the anatomic barriers, underlying illnesses, or the declining capacity of the immune system [6][7][8][9]. Although many investigators have attempted to characterize the response to infection in aged animals, their attempts have produced equivocal results; some studies have shown a decreased response in aged hosts [10][11][12][13][14], while others have not [15][16][17][18].…”

Passage of Interleukin-1-Beta Across the Blood-Brain Barrier Is Reduced in Aged Mice: A Possible Mechanism for Diminished Fever in Aging

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