Effect of leukoreduction on concentrations of interleukin-8, interleukin-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in canine packed red blood cells during storage

OBJECTIVE To measure changes in interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentrations in stored canine packed RBCs (PRBCs) over time and assess the effect of leukoreduction on these cytokine concentrations.ANIMALS12 anesthetized healthy Greyhounds.PROCEDURES1 unit of whole blood from each dog was processed into PRBCs. Half of each PRBCs unit was passed through a leukoreduction filter to produce a leukoreduced unit, and the remaining blood was kept as a nonleukoreduced unit. All units had a CBC performed on day 0 (day of collection) and were stored at 2 degrees to 6 degrees C. Samples were collected from leukoreduced and nonleukoreduced units on days 0, 10, 20, 30, and 37 and centrifuged; the supernatant was stored at -80 degrees C until analysis. Canine TNF-alpha and IL-8 concentrations were assessed with a multiplexed genomic and proteomic biomarker analyzer, and canine IL-1 beta concentration was measured by ELISA.RESULTSLeukocyte counts were decreased by >= 99.9% in all leukoreduced units. Median TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta concentrations were not significantly different between leukoreduced and nonleukoreduced units and did not change significantly during storage; median IL-8 concentration was significantly higher in nonleukoreduced versus leukoreduced units on all days, and was greater at all time points after >= 10 days of storage than on day 0. Median IL-8 concentration in leukoreduced units did not increase during storage.CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCEResults indicated that leukoreduction was effective for the removal of leukocytes from canine PRBCs and prevented significant increases in IL-8 concentration during storage. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether leukoreduction reduces cytokine-associated complications of transfusion