Effect of liposome-mediated macrophage depletion on LPS-induced cytokine gene expression and radioprotection

Tissue-specific cytokine mRNA expression was examined in mice that received LPS. In the liver, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p40), and TNF-alpha were induced by 30 min after injection with LPS. In the spleen, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were induced by 30 min after LPS challenge, while increases in IL-10 and IL-12 (p40) were delayed in onset. GM-CSF, IFN-gamma, and IL-12 (p35) were not induced in the liver or spleen until 60 to 90 min after LPS injection. Mice were depleted of macrophages in their liver and spleen by i.v. injection of liposome-encapsulated dichloromethylene bisphosphonate (Cl2MBP). Induction of IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 (p40) mRNA by LPS was reduced by > 95% in the liver of macrophage-depleted mice, implicating macrophages as the primary producers of these cytokines. Macrophage depletion resulted in a 50 to 75% reduction in TNF-alpha mRNA in the liver. The results from Cl2MBP-liposome-treated mice also suggested that splenic macrophages were the primary producers of LPS-induced IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-12 (p40), and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) mRNA, but not IL-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA. Mice treated with Cl2MBP-liposomes were more susceptible to ionizing irradiation than control mice, whether or not they were administered a radioprotective dose of LPS. These findings suggest that depletion of liver and splenic macrophages results in a dysregulation of basal and LPS-induced cytokine responses that can be associated with an altered biologic response.