[The effect of x-ray irradiation on the production of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha by mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood].

The influence of X-radiation on production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and alpha-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been investigated. Irradiation with doses of 45, 90 and 900 cGy was shown to increase considerably TNF and IL-6 production both in intact mononuclear cultures of human peripheral blood and in cultures stimulated by phytohemagglutinin. In addition to an absolute increase in the production, the stimulatory effect was manifested by earlier accumulation of IL-6 and TNF activities in supernatant fractions of the cultures under study.

Ionizing radiation increases TNF/cachectin production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro.

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and monocytes produce a large amount of tumor necrosis factor/cachectin (TNF) in vitro. Our data suggest that X-irradiation can increase TNF production by these cells. After 900 cGy irradiation there were 7-fold (24 h incubation) and 2.