[Liberation of interleukin 12 (IL12) after trauma and polytrauma]

We determined concentrations of IL-12 (p70), IL-12 (p40) and concomitantly of IL-10 in plasma and partly in culture supernatants stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 30 traumatized patients (ISS: 17-57; APACHE II: 7-45; during their course on the intensive care unit. Our results showed that individually systemic IL-12 could be extremely increased post trauma (p70 > 1000 pg/ml and p40 > 2500 pg/ml). Patients who succumbed to sepsis/multi organ failure, partly exhibited subnormal systemic IL-12-values. The capacity to synthesize IL-12-p40 from SAC-stimulated PBMC in vitro was individually increased in non-septic patients and correlated to respective plasma values.