Effect of ethanol on hepatic production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) following burn injury in mouse

Abstract

EFFECT OF ETHANOL ON HEPATIC PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-6 (IL-6) FOLLOWING BURN INJURY IN MOUSE A. Colantoni, L.A. Duffner, N. De Maria, D.H. Van Thiel, E.J. Kovacs Loyola University at Chicago, USA. Mortality following burn injury is greater in patients with detectable blood alcohol levels (BAL). Elevated circulating levels of IL-6 are associated with poor prognosis following burn injury. Aim of the study was to determine if alcohol enhances the hepatic production of IL-6 following burn injury. Mice were injected with saline or ethanol 30 min before bum (15% total body surface area) or sham injury. Two doses o f ethanol were administered to reach BALs of 100 mg/ml (El00) and 300 mg/ml (E300). 24 following injury, 77% of the mice in the bum E300 group died (vs 0 in saline and 15% in El00, p<0.01). The serum and hepatic levels of IL-6 in bum mice were increased 2 fold in saline, 5 fold in E l00 and 10 fold in E300 (p=0.005). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production within the liver was higher in the bum mice treated with ethanol as measured by malonaldehyde and protein carbonyl content. In conclusion: 1) The increase in mortality following alcohol+bum injury may be due to an increased hepatic production of IL-6 as a result of the combined effect of alcohol and burn; and 2) the promotion of ROS production in the ethanol+bum groups may stimulate the production of IL-6 via the ROS-mediated activation of signal transduction.