Abstract
A stainless steel leukocyte filter has been developed for leukoreduction and immunomodulation. Our group has previously reported the superior efficiency of the filter for leukocyte removal. At this time, biocompatibility of the filter is being evaluated in various categories. These categories include thrombogenicity, complement activation, cytokine production and leukocyte stimulation, etc. In this experiment, thrombogenicity of the filter is evaluated by analyzing adsorbed protein onto the fibers. Furthermore, production of proinflammatory cytokines are being evaluated, including IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-4 and INF-γ. In SDS-PAGE, the protein which has a molecular weight of more than 100 KDa is not detected on the stainless steel fiber. In the western blotting analysis, the amount of albumin, IgG γ chain and fibronectin adsorbed onto the stainless steel fibers is less than those onto the polyester fibers. These results may indicate that the stainless steel is a superior materialfor anti-thrombogenicity compared to the polyester. All of these cytokine levels, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-4 and INF-γ, were not significantly changed after filtration. These results may indicate that the stainless steel filter has less influence on the production of proinflammatory cytokines. The results of these investigations show, the stainless steel leukocyte filter is potentially a superior device for leukoreduction and immunomodulation.
