Decreased interleukin 1 activity in culture supernatant of lipopolysaccharide stimulated monocytes from patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Immunoregulatory function of peripheral blood monocytes was studied in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis (LC), by assaying interleukin I (IL- I) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) in the culture supernatant of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated monocytes. IL-1 activity of the monocyte culture supernatant without indomethacin was decreased in patients with HCC and LC, compared with that of controls. The activity was lower in patients with HCC than that in those with LC. The PGE₂ content of the culture supernatant of monocytes from patients with LC and HCC was increased, compared to normal controls. To avoid the effect of PGE₂ on the IL-1 assay, we cultured the monocytes with addition of indomethacin and assayed IL-1 activity in the culture supernatant. As a result, monocyte IL-1 production was increased in patients with HCC and LC, compared with normal controls. The decrease in IL-1 activity of the supernatant without indomethacin of patients with LC and HCC was considered to be due to increased secretion of PGE₂ by the monocytes. Therefore, monocytes from patients with HCC and LC had an increased capacity of secreting both IL-1 and PGE₂ over normal controls, but the effect of the suppressor function (PGE₂ secretion) dominated in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]