Le TNF-α est une cytokine pro-inflammatoire du système immunitaire qui, lorsque sa production est déréglée, induit de nombreuses pathologies chez l’homme (cachexie, arthrite rhumatoïde, etc.) Outre une régulation transcriptionnelle de cette cytokine, il existe aussi une régulation post-transcriptionnelle permettant un contrôle affiné de sa production. Le laboratoire de Biologie du Gène étudie cette régulation post-transcriptionnelle faisant intervenir une séquence consensus dans l’ARNm appelée séquence AU-riche (ou ARE pour AU-rich element) et les protéines qui y sont impliquées. Généralement, les ARNm porteurs d’ARE codent pour des protéines dont l’expression est transitoire. Ces gènes requièrent un contrôle très précis de leur expression et c’est pourquoi, en plus d’être soumis à de nombreux contrôles transcriptionnels, la traduction et la stabilité de leurs ARNm sont très finement régulées. La réponse immune innée implique de nombreux ARNm de ce type. Jusqu’à présent, la fonction de la protéine TIAR dans la régulation de l’expression du TNF-α n’a pas été complètement élucidée. Outre le TNF-α, la participation à la réponse immune innée de nombreuses protéines encodées par des ARNm porteurs d’ARE pourrait conférer à la protéine TIAR un rôle de régulateur essentiel dans le contrôle de l’inflammation. Nous avons donc générés plusieurs lignées de macrophages RAW 264.7 surexprimant la protéine TIAR entière ou différents mutants de TIAR afin de déterminer, par une analyse globale par puces à ADN, les ARNm cibles de TIAR au cours de la réponse immune. Cette approche nous a permis de démontrer que la protéine TIAR exerce un contrôle sur le métabolisme de l’ARNm du TNF-α et de MKP-1 (MAP kinase phosphatase 1), une phosphatase majeure dans la voie de signalisation de la MAPK p38. Cette voie de signalisation joue un rôle essentiel dans la stabilisation et la traduction de nombreux ARNm porteurs d’ARE encodant des protéines de la réponse inflammatoire. D’autre part, nous avons voulu étudier in vivo la fonction de la protéine TIAR au cours de la réponse immune. Nous avons, dans ce but, généré des souris transgéniques surexprimant l’isoforme courte de la protéine TIAR. Si nous n’avons pas encore pu mesurer les effets d’une surexpression de TIAR sur la réponse inflammatoire chez ces souris, ces individus transgéniques ont révélé qu’une expression anormale de la protéine TIAR induit une létalité importante au cours du développement embryonnaire.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The aim of this study was to measure the levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in serum of rats experimentally infected with Trypanosoma evansi and to correlate with the hematological parameters. Seventy-six rats (Wistar) were divided into two groups. Group C (control) composed of twenty-eight non-inoculated rats distributed in four subgroups with seven animals each (C3, C5, C10 and C20), which received 0.2 mL saline by intraperitoneally. The group T (infected) formed of forty-eight rats was inoculated intraperitoneally with cryopreserved blood containing 1x106 trypomastigotes per animal. These, eight animals died between 5th -7th days post-infection. The remaining animals were divided into four subgroups with ten animals (T3, T5, T10 and T20) according to parasitemia degree. The blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture at the day 3 (C3, T3), 5 (C5, T5), 10 (C10, T10) and 20 (C20, T20) post infection (pi) to perform the complete blood count and determination of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6 levels using an ELISA quantitative sandwich. Immediately after collection the animals were euthanized. The levels of all measured cytokines increased significantly (P < 0.01) in infected animals compared to the controls. T. evansi infection in rats caused an increase in serum IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6 and this increase was observed during the whole experimental infection. In addition, the increase in the cytokine levels was concomitant and directly correlated with parasitemia and anemia development at the parasitemia peak. These results suggest a synergism between these cytokines contributing to the development of anemia and the regulation of the immune response against the parasite. / O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os níveis séricos das citocinas pró-inflamatórias interferon-gama (INF-γ), fator de necrose tumoral-alfa (TNF-α), interleucina 1 (IL-1) e interleucina 6 (IL-6) em ratos experimentalmente infectados por Trypanosoma evansi e estabelecer uma correlação com os parâmetros hematológicos. Setenta e seis ratos (Wistar) machos foram divididos em dois grupos experimentais. O Grupo C (controle) foi composto por vinte e oito ratos não inoculados distribuídos em quatro subgrupos com sete animais cada (C3, C5, C10 e C20), que receberam 0,2 mL de solução fisiológica pela via intraperitoneal. O grupo T (infectados) formado por quarenta e oito ratos inoculados intraperitonealmente com sangue criopreservado, contendo 1x106 tripomastigotas de T. evansi por animal. Destes, oito morreram entre o 5º e 7º dia pós-infecção. Os animais restantes foram divididos em quatro subgrupos de dez animais cada (T3, T5, T10 e T20) de acordo com o grau de parasitemia. As amostras de sangue foram coletadas por punção cardíaca, nos dias 3 (C3, T3), 5 (C5, T5), 10 (C10, T10) e 20 (C20,T20) pós-infecção (pi) para a realização do hemograma e determinação dos níveis séricos de INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-1 e IL-6 pela técnica de ELISA tipo sanduíche. Imediatamente após as coletas os animais eram submetidos à eutanásia. Os níveis de citocinas pró-inflamatórias aumentaram significativamente (P<0,01) nos animais infectados em relação ao grupo controle. A infecção por T. evansi em ratos provocou um aumento nos níveis séricos de INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 e esse aumento foi observado durante toda a infecção experimental. Além disso, o aumento nos níveis de citocinas foi diretamente correlacionado com a parasitemia e o desenvolvimento da anemia. Estes resultados sugerem um sinergismo entre essas citocinas contribuindo para o desenvolvimento da anemia e regulação da resposta imune contra o parasito.

Orientador: Mirela Tinucci Costa / Banca: Aguemi Kohayagawa / Banca: Tiago Wilson Patriarca Mineo / Banca: Rosangela Zacarias Machado / Banca: Aureo Evangelista Santana / Resumo: A infecção aguda experimental pela amostra Jaboticabal de Ehrlichia canis provoca alterações clínicas severas no hospedeiro, com graves distúrbios sanguíneos e imunológicos, que podem comprometer a vida do animal. Com este estudo buscou-se avaliar a expressão gênica de TNF-α, IFN-γ e IL-10, pesquisar a presença de mórulas no baço e avaliar o imunofenótipo das células esplênicas antes, nos dias 6, 18 e 30 após a inoculação e 25 dias após o tratamento com cloridrato de doxicilina, em cinco cães sem definição racial inoculados com a amostra Jaboticabal de Ehrlichia canis. Nas condições experimentais desta pesquisa, o início do desenvolvimento dos sinais clínicos, seis dias após a inoculação (D6) foi acompanhado pela expressão de TNF-α e aumento de células MHC II+ (P<0,05) na citologia esplênica em relação ao controle. Com o desenvolvimento da infecção experimental (D18) ocorreu o agravamento dos sinais clínicos, os cães apresentaram febre, linfadenomegalia e esplenomegalia acompanhados de trombocitopenia, leucopenia e anemia, mórulas na citologia esplênica, aumento significativo da expressão de TNF-α em leucócitos e células esplênicas, detecção de IL-10, tanto em leucócitos como em células esplênicas e redução de células CD4+ (P<0,05), em relação ao momento anterior e ao grupo controle, macrófagos (P<0,05) em relação ao controle, e aumento de células B (P<0,05) em relação a D-1 e ao grupo controle. Aos 30 dias os cães já não apresentavam sinais clínicos da infecção, porém persistia a trombocitopenia. Além disso, persistência do aumento das células B+ esplênicas (P<0,05), diminuição significativa das células CD4+ e dos macrófagos em relação ao D18 e ao controle. O TNF-α atingiu sua maior taxa de expressão e ocorreu a detecção de IFN-γ. / Abstract: The experimental acute infection by Ehrlichia canis Jaboticabal sample provokes severe clinical alterations in the host with serious blood and immunological disorders that may compromise the animal's life. The present study aimed to evaluate the gene expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-10, search morulae presence in the spleen and evaluate the splenic cells' immunophenotype before, at days 6, 18 and 30 days post inoculation and 25 days after the treatment with doxycycline cloridrate, in five cross-bred dogs inoculated with Ehrlichia canis Jaboticabal sample. At the experimental conditions of this research, the beginning of the development of the clinical signs, six days after the inoculation (D6) was accompanied by expression of TNF-α and increase of MHC II+ cells (P<0,05) at the splenic cytology when compared to the control group. As long as the experimental infection was developed (D18) the clinical signs were becoming worse, the dogs presented fever, lymphadenomegalia and spleenomegalia accompanied by thrombocytopenia, leucopenia and anemia, morulae in the splenic cytology, significant increase of the expression of TNF-α in leukocytes and splenic cells, detection of IL-10 both in leukocytes and in splenic cells and the decrease of CD4+ cells (P<0,05) in comparison to the previous moment and to the control group, macrophages (P<0,05) compared to the control group, and increase of cells B (P<0,05) in comparison to the control group and D-1. At day 30 the dogs no more presented the infection clinical signs, although the thrombocytopenia persisted. Besides, persistent splenic cells B+ increase (P<0,05), significant reduction of CD4+ cells and macrophages compared to D18 and to the control group were observed. The TNF-α reached its highest expression rate and the detection of IFN-γ ocurred. / Doutor

Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) is a malignant neoplasm of epithelial origin that accounts for 90 to 95% of tumors in oral cavity. Alcohol and tobacco consumption are main risk factors, but the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and presence of chronic inflammatory processes have been shown to favor the carcinogenesis process. Human serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a protein with an important antioxidant action and prevents oxidative stress induced by ROS, in turn, high levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) are commonly found in inflammatory processes, and changes in these proteins have been related to development of different neoplasms. Present study aims to investigate the prognostic value of functional polymorphisms in PON1, TNF-α and TGF-β genes in OOSCC. This is a prospective cohort study with patients attended at the Advanced Oncology Center of the North-Riograndense League against Cancer. Data collection of clinical variables was done through the form: gender, age, tumor site, TNM (primary tumor, regional nodule and distant metastasis) classification, clinical stage; and through interview: smoking habits and alcohol intake by the patient. A total of 163 samples from patients with OOSCC and 146 control samples were genotyped by real-time PCR. It was observed that 76.1% of the population was males, 84% older than 52 years, with a more frequent intra-oral clinical presentation (53.4%), in the tongue region (21.5%), tumors greater than 4cm (56.45%), presence of nodal involvement (58.9%) and stages III and IV (79.15%). There was a positive association between drinking and smoking habits in patients with OOSCC and between clinical stage and tumor site (p <0.05). The polymorphisms were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, with exception of rs662 of PON1. TNF-α wild-type GG homozygous genotype (rs1800629) was associated with intra-oral lesions, clinical stage of the most advanced disease (III and IV), and decreased overall disease survival, whereas the polymorphic AA genotype was associated with lip lesion, clinical stage I and II and a longer overall disease survival (p <0.05). It was observed association of TGF-β polymorphic AG and AA genotypes (rs1800469) with larger diameter tumors (T3 and T4) (p <0.05). Finally, the polymorphic TT genotype of PON1 (rs662) in recessive model was associated with a shorter disease survival time within threshold of significance (p = 0.05). In view of the findings, it is suggested that wild-type GG homozygous genotype of TNF-α rs1800629 and TGF-β rs1800469 polymorphic AG and AA genotypes may exert an influence on more aggressive biological behavior of OOSCC and that AG genotype of TNF-α rs1800629 and TT genotype of PON1 rs662 could be prognostic markers in OOSCC. In the clinical practice of oncology, these genotypes can be used to perform early diagnosis, knowledge of the biological behavior of the tumor and choice of appropriate individualized therapy / O carcinoma de células escamosas oral e orofaríngeo (CCEO) é uma neoplasia maligna de origem epitelial que representa 90 a 95% dos tumores da cavidade oral. O consumo de álcool e de tabaco são os principais fatores de risco, mas a formação de espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs) e a presença de processos inflamatórios crônicos têm-se mostrado favorável ao processo de carcinogênese. A paraoxonase de soro humano 1 (PON1) é uma proteína com importante ação antioxidante e previne o estresse oxidativo induzido pelas EROs, por sua vez, elevados níveis do fator de necrose tumoral-alfa (TNF-α) e do fator de crescimento transformante-beta (TGF-β) são comumente encontrados em processos inflamatórios, e alterações nessas proteínas têm sido relacionadas com o desenvolvimento de diferentes neoplasias. O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar o valor prognóstico dos polimorfismos funcionais nos genes da PON1, TNF-α e TGF-β no CCEO. Trata-se de um estudo coorte prospectivo com pacientes atendidos no Centro Avançado de Oncologia da Liga Norte-Riograndense contra o Câncer. Realizou-se a coleta de dados das variáveis clínicas por meio de formulário: gênero, idade, localização do tumor, classificação TNM (Tumor primário, nódulo regional e metástase à distância), estadiamento clínico (EC); e por meio de entrevista: hábitos de fumo e ingestão alcoólica pelo paciente. Foram genotipadas 163 amostras de pacientes com CCEO e 146 amostras controle por meio de PCR em tempo real. Observou-se que 76,1% da população era do gênero masculino, sendo 84% com mais de 52 anos, com apresentação clínica mais frequente intra-oral (53,4%), na região da língua (21,5%), tumores maiores que 4cm (56,45%), presença de envolvimento nodal (58,9%) e em estágios III e IV (79,15%). Evidenciou-se associação positiva entre os hábitos de beber e fumar com pacientes portadores de CCEO e entre o EC e a localização do tumor (p<0,05). Os polimorfismos encontravam-se em equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg, com exceção do rs662 da PON1. O genótipo homozigoto selvagem GG do TNF-α (rs1800629) associou-se com lesões intra-orais, EC da doença mais avançado (III e IV) e menor sobrevida global da doença, enquanto o genótipo AA polimórfico associou-se a lesão de lábio, EC I e II e maior sobrevida global da doença (p<0,05). Observou-se associação dos genótipos AG e AA polimórfico do TGF-β (rs1800469) com tumores de maior diâmetro (T3 e T4) (p < 0,05). Por fim, o genótipo TT polimórfico da PON1 (rs662) no modelo recessivo apresentou associação com menor tempo de sobrevida da doença dentro do limiar de significância (p=0,05). Diante dos achados, sugere-se que o genótipo GG selvagem do rs1800629 do TNF-α e os genótipos AG e AA polimórfico do rs1800469 do TGF-β podem exercer influência no comportamento biológico mais agressivo do CCEO e que o genótipo AG do rs1800629 do TNF-α e o genótipo TT polimórfico do rs662 da PON1 poderiam ser marcadores com valor prognóstico no CCEO. Na prática clínica da oncologia, esses genótipos podem ser utilizados para realização de diagnóstico precoce, conhecimento do comportamento biológico do tumor e escolha da terapêutica individualizada adequada. / Lagarto, SE

No description available.

Introduction: Gout is a painful form of acute inflammatory arthritis associated with elevated uric acid crystal deposition especially in the joints, but also in tendons and the kidney. Between 1 and 2% of Western populations are affected and in severe cases, gout sufferers can be completely incapacitated. Despite the number of gout sufferers, the high number of risk factors and high incidence of adverse drug reactions using the standard treatment regimens, little research involving gout has been done within the highly diverse multiracial and multicultural population of South Africa. Hypothesis: This study was a hypothesis generating observational study to assess whether serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase protein levels could be used as markers of the gout status of a patient. Method: Thirty gout patients were enrolled onto the study and attended two visits. At the screening visit; medical history, vital signs and demographic details were collected from intercritical gout patients. At both visits, patients completed visual analogue scales; namely: subject’s assessment of pain and subject’s assessment of disease activity. A doctor completed the physician’s assessment of disease activity at both of the visits. At the end visit, patients experiencing an acute gout attack were asked to list various foods and beverages that triggered said attacks. Patients were requested to return for their second visit as soon as they experienced a gout attack, however, those patients that did not experience a gout attack were asked to return to the clinic to complete the follow up visit four months after their baseline visit. Uric acid, IL-1β, TNF-α and CRP were measured for each patient at both visits. Results: Many of the patients displayed risk factors for metabolic syndrome. The mean subject’s assessment of pain score increased from 31mm at the screening visit to 40mm at the end visit (p=0.1947; n=26), while the mean subject’s assessment of disease activity score and the mean physician’s assessment of disease activity increased from 30mm to 37mm (p=0.3196; n=26) and 23mm to 35 mm (p=0.0937; n=26) respectively. Uric acid levels decreased from 1.053mmol/L to 0.871mmol/L between visits (p=0.0926; n=25) while CRP concentrations increased significantly from 10.2mg/L to 26.6mg/L (p=0.0278, n=24). IL-1β concentrations remained similar (12.17pg/ml to 12.54pg/ml) while TNF-α concentrations decreased from 12.63pg/ml to 3.54pg/ml, however neither of these were statistically significant differences. Upon stratifying results into active and non-active patients, both IL-1β and TNF-α concentrations decreased between non-active and active patients, while CRP and urate concentrations increased. However, none of these differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: The visual analogue scales all showed an increase between the screening and final visits, although this was not statistically significant. Uric acid concentrations decreased between visits, however this increase was once again not statistically significant. There appears to be no association between inflammatory markers and the level of gout activity, although this needs to be tested in a larger sample population. Results in South African patients have confirmed results from previous studies where gout patients are at a higher risk of metabolic syndrome than the normal population. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Pharmacology / unrestricted

The aim of the present study was to find out whether adaption to chronic hypoxia affects the expresion of TNF-α and IL-10 in rat myocardium. TNF-α is a proinflammatory cytokine, which amplifies inflammatory reaction, while IL-10 has opposite antiinflammatory effect. We also measured concentration of nitrotyrosine as a marker of nitrosative stress. We used male Wistar rats divided into four groups: 1) normoxic controls; 2) exposed to continous normobaric hypoxia (10% O2) for three days or 3) for three weeks and 4) exposed to intermittent normobaric hypoxia (10% O2) for three weeks with one hour daily reoxygenation. Cytosolic and membrane proteins (cytosolic and particulate fractions) were obtained from the left ventricle, right ventricle and interventricular septum. Concentrations of TNF-α and IL-10 in both fractions were measured by ELISA. Continous hypoxia increased TNF-α production in particulate fractions from all ventricular parts and decreased the ratio of IL-10/TNF-α in particulate and cytosolic fractions. Intermittent hypoxia redistributed TNF-α from cytosol into the particulate fraction and prevented the drop of IL-10/TNF-α ratio in the cytosolic fraction. The highest concentration of nitrotyrosine was found in the particulate fraction from the right ventricle after three days of hypoxia....

Microglia are the resident macrophage in the central nervous system (CNS) that actively survey their environment and participate in shaping neuronal circuits. Among the transcription factors necessary for microglia development, interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) is a known risk gene for multiple sclerosis and lupus and it has recently been shown to be downregulated in schizophrenia. These studies suggest that lack of microglial IRF8 can subsequently impact neuronal function in disease, but the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. While most studies have focused on IRF8-dependent regulation of immune cell function, little is known about how it impacts neural circuits. To interrogate the impact of disrupted microglial IRF8 signaling on brain circuits, I first show by RNAseq that several genes known to regulate neuronal function are dysregulated basally in Irf8-/- brains. I then found that these molecular changes are reflected in heightened neural excitability and a profound increase in susceptibility to chemically-induced lethal seizures in Irf8-/- mice. Importantly, I also show that developmental synaptic pruning, a key function for microglia, proceeds normally in Irf8-/-mice. Finally, I identified that these IRF8-dependent effects on circuits are due to elevated TNF-α in the CNS as genetic or acute pharmacological blockade of TNF-α in the Irf8-/- CNS rescued the seizure phenotype. These results provide important insights into the consequences of IRF8 signaling and TNF-α on neural circuits. The next steps are to use cell-specific genetic approaches to manipulate this signaling, which I have further developed over the course of this project.

<p>  </p> <p>Osteoarthritis (OA) is prevalent in equine and can be career-ending for performance horses due to lameness limitations and decreased quality of life. OA is a progressive, multifactorial disease that compromises the synovial joints' normal function, resulting in subchondral bone and articular cartilage deterioration over time. OA is a complex disease that impacts the entire joint, wherein activation of the innate immune system has an essential role in the disease progression and the development of pain. The synovial membrane, or the synovium, is a crucial contributor to the inflammation of diseased joints, regardless of the intra-articular tissue type initially affected. Synoviocytes are a predominant cell type of the synovium and contribute to inflammation by releasing key mediators and degradative enzymes, such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, a disintegrin, and metalloproteinase (ADAM) domains, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The production of pro-inflammatory molecules sequentially influences the expression of degradative enzymes and cartilage destruction. Therefore, the pathophysiological processes within synovial joints afflicted by OA can be further understood by studying the characteristics of synoviocytes.</p> <p>We aimed to investigate the inflammatory component of OA in an <em>in vitro</em> model using a primary cell line of equine fibroblast-like synoviocytes (eqFLS) stimulated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) to represent an initial inflammatory stimulus. Our studies have shown that stimulating eqFLS with TNF-α for 24 hours significantly increased the gene expression of pro-inflammatory biomarkers. Among several pro-inflammatory candidate genes assayed, only pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 gene expression could be detected reproducibly following stimulation with the TNF-α gene in eqFLS. We characterized the pro-inflammatory response of eqFLS and utilized this system to examine the impact of novel therapeutic compounds designed <em>in-silico</em> with the goal of reducing the inflammatory response of eqFLS. A piperazine-based compound (C3) and its derivative (02-09) were primarily designed to mimic the interactions of the growth factor pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) with its receptor, the non-integrin laminin receptor 1 (LAMR1). Based on previous <em>in vitro</em> studies in the laboratory, C3 and 02-09 had been proposed to have a strong potential for inhibiting inflammation while reducing angiogenesis and chondrocyte hypertrophy. The efficacy of these two novel compounds on eqFLS was examined in the present work by assessing the gene expression levels of inflammatory biomarkers, including IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, ADAMs, and MMPs relative to a control housekeeping gene, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in various study designs. An <em>in-vitro</em> screen with the IL-1β promoter driving a reporter green fluorescent protein (GFP) was also designed to detect and track the inflammatory response of eqFLS by imaging following stimulation with or without (+/-) TNF-α relative to controls. This screen will be utilized in future studies to potentially identify more effective compounds in the LAMR1-interacting series. The current findings suggest that the novel compounds, especially 02-09, might exhibit an anti-inflammatory effect on eqFLS; therefore, it is a potential therapeutic agent in modulating inflammation during OA development. </p> <p><br></p>

LPS pretreatment of human pro-monocytic THP-1 cells induces tolerance to secondary LPS stimulation with reduced TNFα production. However, secondary stimulation with heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus (HKSa) induces priming as evidenced by augmented TNFα production. The pro-inflammatory cytokine, IFNγ, also abolishes suppression of TNFα in LPS tolerance. The effect of LPS tolerance on HKSa and IFNγ-induced inflammatory mediator production is not well defined. We hypothesized that LPS, HKSa and IFNγ differentially regulate pro-inflammatory mediators and chemokine production in LPS-induced tolerance. THP-1 cells were pretreated for 24h with LPS (100ng/ml) or LPS (100ng/ml)+IFNγ (1μg/ml). Cells were subsequently stimulated with LPS or HKSa (10μg/ml) for 24h. The production of the cytokines TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β, and GMCSF and the chemokine IL-8 were measured in supernatants. LPS and HKSa stimulated TNFα (3070±711pg/ml and 217±9pg/ml, respectively) and IL-6 (237±8.9pg/ml and 56.2±2.9pg/ml, p<0.05, n=3, respectively) in control cells compared to basal levels (<25pg/ml). LPS induced tolerance to secondary LPS stimulation as evidenced by a 90% (p<0.05, n=3) reduction in TNFα. However, LPS pretreatment induced priming to HKSa as demonstrated by increased TNFα (2.7 fold, from 217 to 580pg/ml, p<0.05, n=3). In contrast to suppressed TNFα, IL-6 production was augmented to secondary LPS stimulation (9 fold, from 237 to 2076pg/ml, p<0.01, n=3) and also primed to HKSa stimulation (62 fold, from 56 to 3470pg/ml, p<0.01, n=3). LPS induced IL-8 production and to a lesser extent IL-1β and GMCSF. LPS pretreatment did not affect secondary LPS stimulated IL-8 or IL-1β, although HKSa stimulation augmented both mediators. In addition, IFNγ pretreatment reversed LPS tolerance as evidenced by increased TNFα levels while IL-6, IL-1β, and GMCSF levels were further augmented. However, IL-8 production was not affected by IFNγ. These data support our hypothesis of differential regulation of cytokines and chemokines in gram-negative- and gram-positive-induced inflammatory events. Such changes may have implications in the pathogenesis of polymicrobial sepsis.