Abstract
Both C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A protein (SAA) are determined as an indicator of inflammation and tissue damage. We found that CRP decreased extremely after administration of corticosteroid but SAA did not. However, the mechanism of the CRP decrease by corticosteroid therapy is unclear. In this study we have examined the effects of some immunosuppressive drugs and cytokines on the production of CRP and SAA by human hepatoma cells (HepG 2).
A corticosteroid prednisolone did not enhance the production of CRP by HepG 2 cells but enhanced that of SAA, which indicate that prednisolon had no direct effect on the CRP production. Some immunosuppressants other than corticosteroids suppressed the SAA production but had no effect on the CRP production. IL-1β induced both CRP and SAA production but only in the co-presence of IL-6. A cytokine IL-6 induced the CRP production in the presence of IL-1β but did not affect the constitutive production of SAA.
Then we have examined the cytokine production by monocytes stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. Prednisolone inhibited the production of IL-1α IL-1β IL-6 and TNFα.
