Interleukin 1 in Crohn's disease

A number of the activities currently ascribed to the mediator interleukin 1 (IL-1) are relevant to chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Using the mouse thymocyte stimulation assay, lymphocyte-activating factor (LAF) activity was measured in plasma samples and supernatants from cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 16 patients with Crohn's disease, six with ulcerative colitis, and 10 healthy subjects. Results were compared with disease activity, drug therapy, granulocyte count, and plasma levels of zinc and C-reactive protein (CRP). Very low levels of LAF were detected in a few plasma samples from each of the subject groups. Mononuclear cells from healthy subjects produced LAF only when cultured with lipopolysaccharide, but stimulated cells from patients produced greater amounts. Moreover, cells from six patients with Crohn's disease, not receiving steroids, produced LAF spontaneously. Crohn's disease patients also had low plasma zinc but elevated levels of CRP and granulocytes. This enhanced production of LAF in vitro may reflect a primary cellular defect in Crohn's disease, or a secondary consequence of monocyte activation.