Interleukin-1 and defensins in thermoregulation, stress, and immunity

Our previous studies suggested that IL-1 and defensins, which play a critical role in mechanisms of host resistance, participated in the realization of stress reaction. The present report describes functional relations between IL-1 and defensins during stress reactions and the influence of defensins administration on thermoregulation and the IL-1 level in blood. It is shown that stress-induced shifts in the humoral immune response are accompanied by diverse changes in the IL-1 alpha level in blood and LAF production by peritoneal macrophages, which are possibly associated with the intensity and strength of applied stressors. Functional interrelations between actions of defensins and IL-1 during stress reaction and in the conditions of an LPS-induced rise in body temperature was demonstrated. These results suggest that antibacterial peptides defensins may be involved in thermoregulation in case of increased body temperature probably influencing the blood level of IL-1.