[Biocompatibility study--inflammable cytokine production by the extract from fiber membrane in human peripheral...

Inflammatory cytokines including IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and IL-6 are known to be closely related to activation of the cells associated with fever or inflammation and to production of acute-phase reactants. In the present study, I obtained the extracts of membrane materials and examined the production of inflammatory cytokines by peripheral mononuclear cells to study the influences of dialysis membrane used for hemodialysis. For the influence of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which is an endotoxin contained in membrane extracts in traces, in the presence of LPS at a concentration of 10 ng/ml, IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6 were produced but there was no production of neopterin. On the other hand, there was inhibition of beta 2-microglobulin production at the LPS concentrations of 100 to 10,000 ng/ml. Under the existence of membrane extracts at a concentration of 20 micrograms/ml, no production of substances was found, including IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, IL-6, neopterin and beta 2-microglobulin. In whole-blood circulation experiments using cellulose (CE) and modified CE (AM-PC) membranes, there was no production of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, IL-6, neopterin and beta 2-microglobulin. However, with Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) membrane, there found production of IL-6, IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha in extremely small quantities. These results suggested that although extracts from CE and PMMA membranes cause no production of cytokines, in whole-blood circulation experiments PMMA membrane might induce activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.