Abstract
We have studied levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from children with aseptic meningitis, using an enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay. We have also studied whether cells in the CSF can produce IL-6 in vitro. The patients' CSF contained significantly higher levels of IL-6 than those of the controls, during the first two days of the illness. However, after the first two days, the IL-6 titer rapidly decreased, even in patients who had clinical symptoms of meningitis. Furthermore, when CSF mononuclear cells in the acute phase were cultivated for 24 hours, the culture supernatant contained IL-6. But we did not detect IL-6 in the patients' sera at the initial stage of the disease. IL-6 levels in the CSF correlated with both the number of cells in the CSF and the highest body temperature within the first two days of the illness.
These observations demonstrate that the IL-6 concentration of the CSF increases at the initial stage of aseptic meningitis, and that the IL-6 is derived, at least in part, from the CSF mononuclear cells.
