Abstract
We have already reported that plasma levels of IL-6, which is an inflammatory cytokine, and CRP, which is induced by IL-6, increase with increasing radiation dose among A-bomb survivors. In this study, usual levels of plasma pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-10) of A-bomb survivors were measured to evaluate the late effects of radiation on inflammatory status of A-bomb survivors. The TNF-alpha levels appeared to increase with increasing age and radiation dose. The IFN-gamma levels increase with radiation dose, but not with age. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 levels also increase with age and radiation dose, but the increasing rate of the anti-inflammatory cytokine was lower than that of the pro-inflammatory cytokine. These results indicate that there are certainly elevated inflammatory signs among A-bomb survivors even now, more than 50 years after their radiation exposure. Such changes may play a role in some of the excess inflammatory disease, such as myocardial infarctions, that the survivors experience. [J Radiat Res 44:388 (2003)]
