Sequential measurements of chemokines in urosepsis and experimental endotoxemia

Chemokines are a superfamily of small chemotactic proteins. While increased levels of interleukin-8 have been measured in serum and urine during urina ry tract infection, little is known about other chemokines in this conditio n. Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, macrophage inflammatory protei n (MIP)-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta and interferon-gamma inducible protein (IP)-10 were measured in 30 patients with culture-proven urosepsis during a 3-day f ollow-up and in 11 healthy humans after intravenous injection of endotoxin (4 ng/kg). Urine and serum levels of MCP-1, MIP-1 beta, and IP-10, but not of MIP-1 alpha, were elevated in patients on admission, and decreased after initiation of antibiotic treatment. Endotoxin administration to healthy su bjects induced increases in plasma and urine concentrations of all four che mokines. These data indicate that clinical and experimental gram-negative i nfection in humans is associated with enhanced production of chemokines tha t act mainly on mononuclear cells and that these chemokines are at least in part locally produced.