Abstract
To evaluate immnological function in hemodialysis patients, their ability to produce cytokines was studied. The production of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factoryα (TNFα) by peripheral blood monocytes, intrlukin-2 (IL-2) by T lymphocytes and soluble IL-2 receptor (SIL-2R) were determined in the serum of 35 patients and 14 healthy controls. The patients were divided into 4 groups, less than 40 yrs of age with hemodialysis duration less than 1 yr, less than 40 yrs of age with duration longer than 10 yrs, 60 yrs or older with duration less than 1 yr, and 60 yrs or older with duration longer than 10 yrs. Healthy controls consisted of two groups, less than 4 yrs of age and 60 yrs or older. There were no significant difference in the production of IL-1β and TNFα among the two groups. Production of IL-2 was significantly reduced in older patient groups regardless of the duration comirin to the control groups and the younger patient group with a shorter duration of hemodialysis. The younger patient group with a longer duration showed a tendency to have a decreased IL-2 production but the difference was not significant. SIL-2R was significantly increased in all patient groups compared to that in controls. These results suggest that the production of IL-2 by T lymphocytes in the patient group was reduced with age while productions of IL-1β and TNFα by monocytes were not influenced by age or duration of hemodialysis.
