Abstract
IL-10 is a new cytokine of a soluble protein produced by type 2 helper T cells, macrophages, and B1 cells, which exhibits a wide variety of both immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory properties. The ability of IL-10 to suppress the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as monokines in vitro, predicts a strong antiinflammatory role in vivo.
To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of IL-10 in inflammatory diseases, we evaluated the effect on the survival rate in the murine models. We demonstrated that even the post-challenge IL-10 administration reduced mortality from LPS-induced endotoxin shock and severe peritonitis, via the suppression of monokine (mainly IL-6 and TNFα) production.
Collectively, these results suggest that IL-10 is a potent candidate for the treatment of septic shock and sepsis-related multiple organ failure.
