Enhanced Production of IL-β and IL-6 Following Endotoxin Challenge in Rats with Dietary Magnesium Deficiency

Abstract

Serum IL-1β, IL-6 and TNFα were not detected in control and Mg-deficient rats. These three cytokine levels in serum were increased after endotoxin challenge (1 mg/kg., i.p.), and the increase of IL-1β and IL-6, but not TNFα, was significantly larger in Mg-deficient rats than in controls. Levels of mRNA for IL-1β IL-6 and TNFα in alveolar macrophages showed a tendency to decrease during Mg deficiency, but the levels of IL-1β and TNFα mRNAs after endotoxin challenge were higher in Mg-deficient rats than in controls. These results suggest that the increased synthesis of cytokines by alveolar macrophages might contribute, in part, to high sensitivity to endotoxin during Mg deficiency.