Low-Dose Steroid Therapy Is Associated with Decreased IL-12 Production in PBMCs of Severe Septic Patients

• Published in: Mediators of Inflammation Vol. 2016; no. 2016; pp. 333 - 340-031
• Main Authors: Chen, Tien-Hsing, Chuang, Duen-Yau, Shih, Chi-Chung, Wu, Huang-Pin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Limiteds 01.01.2016; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Aged; Care and treatment; Cells, Cultured; Cytokines; Drug dosages; Endocrine system; Female; Flow Cytometry; Generalized linear models; Health aspects; Histocompatibility antigens; HLA histocompatibility antigens; Hospitals; Humans; Immune system; Infection; Interleukin-10 - metabolism; Interleukin-12 - metabolism; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; Interleukins; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Linear Models; Male; Mortality; Patients; Production management; Receptors, Interleukin - metabolism; Retrospective Studies; Sepsis; Sepsis - drug therapy; Sepsis - immunology; Sepsis - metabolism; Steroids; Steroids - administration & dosage; Steroids - therapeutic use; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 - metabolism; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
• DOI: 10.1155/2016/1796094
• ISSN: 0962-9351

Background. Sepsis-induced immunosuppression may result in higher mortality rates in patients. Methods. We examined the relationship of cytokine responses from stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocyte human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) expression (days 1 and 7) with low-dose steroid therapy in 29 septic patients. Patients were treated according to the guidelines. Thirty healthy controls were enrolled for validation. Results. Eighteen patients were prescribed low-dose steroids and 11 were not. Interleukin- (IL-) 12 responses in patients without low-dose steroid therapy on days 1 and 7 were higher than those with low-dose steroid therapy. Compared to day 1, IL-12 responses significantly increased on day 7 in patients without low-dose steroid therapy. After regression analysis, the change in the IL-12 response from day 7 to day 1 was found to be independently associated with the low-dose steroid therapy. There was no difference in monocyte HLA-DR expression between patients treated with and without low-dose steroid on day 1 or 7. No change in monocyte HLA-DR expression from day 7 to day 1 was observed in patients with or without low-dose steroid therapy. Conclusion. Decreased IL-12 response was associated with the low-dose steroid therapy in PBMCs of septic patients.