CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN ANOREXIA-NERVOSA

The capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients to produce interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interleukin-3-like activity (IL-3-LA) was studied. A signi ficantly lower (-49%, p < 0.005) capacity to synthesize IL-2 and an al most significantly impaired ability (-35%, p = 0.058) to release IL-3- LA by PBMCs of AN patients was found, as compared with cells of the co ntrol group. IL-1 production, either spontaneous or after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), did not differ significantly between AN patients and healthy subjects. The lessened capacity to produce IL-2 was accompanied by an enhanced stimulatory activity of the patient ser a on the production of this cytokine by PBMCs of healthy subjects. It is therefore suggested that the serum of AN patients contains a stimul atory factor or factors for cytokine production that compensates for t he lower production of cytokines by AN PBMCs. Such a compensatory mech anism may explain why AN patients do not have an higher susceptibility to infections.