Soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Receptors Conserve TNF Bioactivity in Meningitis Patient Spinal Fluid

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 1996-09, Vol.174 (3), p.557-563
• Main Authors: Moller, Bjarne, Ellermann-Eriksen, Svend, Storgaard, Merete, Obel, Niels, Bendtzen, Klaus, Petersen, Claus Munck
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aseptic meningitis; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the nervous system. Bacterial myositis; Bacterial meningitis; Biological and medical sciences; Cells, Cultured; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cerebrospinal Fluid - cytology; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Down-Regulation; Elution; Granulocytes; Granulocytes - immunology; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Leukocyte Count; Leukocytes; Lipopolysaccharides - metabolism; Major Articles; Medical sciences; Meningitis, Aseptic - blood; Meningitis, Aseptic - cerebrospinal fluid; Meningitis, Bacterial - blood; Meningitis, Bacterial - cerebrospinal fluid; Necrosis; Receptors; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor - immunology; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor - metabolism; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor - physiology; Tumor necrosis factor receptors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - immunology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - physiology; Tumor necrosis factors
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/174.3.557

The content of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α antigen and the bioactivity of soluble TNF receptor type II (sTNF-RII) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 29 patients with meningeal symptoms and fever were examined. Immunoreactive TNF was demonstrated in CSF from 4 of 7 patients with bacterial meningitis. In 3 of 8 patients with aseptic meningitis, CSF also contained TNF, but TNF bioactivity was confined to samples from patients with bacterial meningitis. Bioactive TNF was exclusively in high-performance liquid chromatography fractions containing 30- to 60-kDa proteins. Lipopolysaccharide induced down-regulation, possibly after shedding of granulocyte surface membrane TNF-RII. Consistently, there was a statistically significant correlation between sTNF-RII and CSF leukocyte counts. Bioactive TNF was found only in CSF containing > 1 ng of sTNF-RII/mL; samples without TNF bioactivity contained less sTNF-RII. Thus, a stabilizing effect of sTNF-RII on the oligomeric cytokine in vivo is plausible.