Effects of sex hormones on production of interleukin-1 by human peripheral monocytes.

Background: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a potent mediator of inflammation and is known to induce bone resorption. We studied the effects of sex hormones on the function of human monocytes and demonstrated that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production was enhanced by progesterone and estradiol. As PGE2 has been shown to suppress the production of IL-1 by monocytes, it was speculated that sex hormones also modify the production of IL-1 by regulating PGE2 production. Thus, the effects of sex hormones on the production of IL-1 from human peripheral monocytes and the influence of PGE2 were investigated. Methods: Mononuclear leukocytes were obtained from 22 healthy adults. Progesterone, 17-β estradiol (estradiol), and testosterone were used as representative sex hormones. Monocytes were incubated at 37°C in air with 5% CO2 for 24 hours in RPMI 1640 medium with sex hormones at the designated concentrations. LPS (Salmonella typhimurium) was used to stimulate the monocytes at a concentration of 10μg/ml. The concentrations o...