INCREASE OF INTERLEUKIN-6 AND DECREASE OF INTERLEUKIN-2 PRODUCTION DURING THE AGING PROCESS ARE INFLUENCED BY THE HEALTH-STATUS

The ageing process is accompanied by the disregulation of interleukin 2 (IL2) and interleukin 6 (IL6) production. In our paper, we asked whe ther the age between 60 and 70 years is a turning point for the disreg ulation of both IL2 and IL6 production. Fifty volunteers 60-70 years o ld, 25 aged 36-59, and 50 of 20-35 years old were enrolled into the st udy. Their health status was graded according to the criteria of the S enieur Protocol (SP) as 'healthy' and 'almost-healthy'. The cytokines level was determined in the sera of the volunteers. Moreover, the spon taneous release of IL6 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) an d the activity of the IL6 gene in non-stimulated PBMC were also analys ed. Cytokine levels were measured by biological assays, mRNA for IL6 w as detected by RT-PCR method. The results showed that the production o f IL2 is not disregulated in the 'healthy' people until the age of 60- 70. People not fulfilling all SP criteria are characterised by a lower level of IL2 in the sera. The overproduction of IL6 into the sera and supernatants from non-stimulated PBMC and PBL as well as the activati on of IL6 gene;start between the ages 36 and 59 and is more pronounced in the 'almost-healthy'. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Ail r ights reserved.