Abstract
By using commercially available ELISA kits, serum IL‐6 and TNF‐α levels in healthy adults, and the levels of various cytokines in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis or chronic viral liver diseases, were investigated. IL‐6 levels of healthy subjects were distributed in a wide range, and the distribution pattern was similar to those of the patients. TNF‐α levels tended to be low in females in their 30s, but there were no abnormalities in the patients. Characteristic findings, in the primary biliary cirrhosis patients, were an increase of IFN‐γ and IL‐2 levels, and a decrease of GM‐CSF levels (P<0.05). IL‐8 levels were higher in the patients than in the healthy subjects (P<0.05), and the increase was remarkable in chronic viral liver disease patients. We believe that measurement of serum cytokine levels as a clinical immunological test is highly useful. Further development of simpler, more rapid, and more sensitive analysis methods is desired. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 12:77–82, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Keywords: cytokine, serum cytokine level, primary biliary cirrhosis, chronic liver diseases, IL‐6, TNF‐α
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