Physiological and cytokine responses in IL-l P-deficient mice after zymosan-induced inflammation

-/-> mice exhibited decreased zymosan-induced lethality and reduced production of IL-6 compared with wild-type controls (IL-lp +/+). In addition, IL-1p-/- mice had a diminished cellular infiltrate (33%) in the peritoneal cavity after zymosan. However, anorexia and hypoglycemia were not affected by the lack of IL-lp. The induction of corticoste-rone was only slightly reduced (14%) in IL-ll3-/- mice. Peritoneal lavage fluid levels for IL-la, but not for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- (x, were also decreased. To evaluate the role of residual IL-la production in IL-lp-/- mice, we used IL-l-receptor antagonist (IL-lra). In IL-lp +/+ mice, IL-lra inhibited production of IL-6 after zymosan, without affecting TNF-a synthesis. There was no further inhibitory effect of IL-lra on IL-6 production in IL-ll3-/- mice, suggesting no role for IL-lo in zymosan-induced IL-6. Our results demon