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. 1998 Sep;5(5):604-8.
doi: 10.1128/CDLI.5.5.604-608.1998.

Increased interleukin-6 levels in nasal lavage samples following experimental influenza A virus infection

D Gentile  1 , W Doyle, T Whiteside, P Fireman, F G Hayden, D Skoner
Affiliations

Increased interleukin-6 levels in nasal lavage samples following experimental influenza A virus infection

D Gentile et al. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 1998 Sep.

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleotropic cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of local inflammation during viral upper respiratory infections. This study determined if experimental influenza A virus infection causes local IL-6 production. Seventeen healthy, adult subjects were intranasally inoculated, by course drops, with a safety-tested strain of influenza A/Kawasaki/86 (H1N1) virus. Nasal lavage samples were collected, symptoms were recorded, and expelled nasal secretions were weighed once before and then daily for 8 days after the virus inoculation. Lavage samples were submitted for virus culture and were examined for IL-6 and IL-4 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The IL-6, but not IL-4, levels were significantly increased in the nasal lavage samples of the 12 subjects who shed virus but not in those of the 5 subjects who did not shed virus. Moreover, the elevations in IL-6 levels were related temporally to the development of nasal symptoms and secretions but not to systemic symptoms. These results suggest a role for locally produced IL-6 in the pathogenesis and expressed symptomatology of influenza A virus infection.

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
The percentage of subjects who shed virus and the average daily log IL-6 concentrations, systemic symptom scores, nasal symptom scores, and nasal secretion weights as a function of time for the 12 subjects who shed virus (squares) and for the 5 subjects (diamonds) who did not shed virus.
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
The percentage of subjects who shed virus and the average daily log IL-6 concentrations, systemic symptom scores, nasal symptom scores, and nasal secretion weights as a function of time for the 12 subjects who shed virus (squares) and for the 5 subjects (diamonds) who did not shed virus.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
The numbers of subjects on each day who shed virus and reported any nasal symptom, reported any systemic symptom, and had greater than 1 g of nasal secretion (solid lines) are shown along with the numbers of those subjects with concurrently measurable IL-6 concentrations (diamonds). SX, symptoms; WT, weight.
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