A. Falus et J. Beres, A TRACE-ELEMENT PREPARATION CONTAINING ZINC INCREASES THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-6 IN HUMAN MONOCYTES AND GLIAL-CELLS, Biological trace element research, 51(3), 1996, pp. 293-301
The in vitro effects of a trace element preparation (Beres Drops Plus,
BDP) on the biosynthesis of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6
, IL-1, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were studied in hu
man peripheral monocytes. The production of IL-6 was studied in a glio
blastoma cell line, SKMG-4, as well. The trace element preparation BDP
significantly stimulated both the constitutive and the endotoxin or I
L-1 induced IL-6 production in monocytes or in glial cells, respective
ly, but revealed no or only modest effect on IL-1 and TNF-alpha produc
tion of monocytes. Moreover, BDP was able to reduce the inhibitory eff
ect of a synthetic corticosteroid, dexamethasone on the biosynthesis o
f IL-6. The positive effect of the trace element preparation on the IL
-6 production of monocytes from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients is
comparable, to that of on the monocytes from healthy individuals, and
similarly to healthy individuals was negligible on the IL-1 and TNF-al
pha production. The detailed analysis of the composition of the prepar
ation suggested, that the major active component in the stimulation of
IL-6 production is Zn, but for the complete effect other trace elemen
ts are also required.