OXIDATION OF ERYTHROCYTE GLUTATHIONE BY MONOCYTES STIMULATED WITH INTERLEUKIN-6 - ANALYSIS BY H-1 SPIN-ECHO NMR

H-1 spin echo NMR was used to follow the release of reactive oxygen sp ecies (ROS) from human monocytes by monitoring erythrocyte glutathione status, which is sensitive to applied oxidative stress. This allowed the ability of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) to stimulate release of ROS from monocytes to be assessed in terms of oxidative damage to o ther cells, providing an estimation of its importance in vivo. It was found that incubation of monocytes with erythrocytes in the presence o f IL-6 resulted in oxidation of the erythrocyte glutathione pool, indi cating that oxidants are released in sufficient amounts to cause oxida tive stress. High levels of IL-6 occurring in plasma of women with sev ere pre-eclampsia could therefore be responsible for depleted plasma a ntioxidants and haemolysis. The oxidation of erythrocyte glutathione w as inhibited by the presence of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indometha cin, suggesting that this may be of value in the treatment of oxidativ e pathologies. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.