Proinflammatory cytokines and IL-10 in inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer patients

The aim of the study was to describe the levels of circulating monocyte/macrophage pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta IL-6, and IL-8) and an anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and healthy controls. The study was conducted on 15 healthy individuals, 20 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 12 with Crohn's disease (CD), and 15 with CRC (Dukes' stage B). Blood serum cytokine levels were measured by ELISA. The patients with UC had significantly higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines and of circulating IL-10 than the healthy controls. The patients with CD and CRC had the same specific pattern of serum cytokines of significantly elevated levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, but the IL-10 levels were within the range found in the healthy individuals. Thus our results demonstrate that both IBD and CRC are linked with an intensified production of a wide array of monocyte/macrophage pro-inflammatory cytokines which is not accompanied by elevated levels of circulating IL-10, except for its insufficiently inhibitory elevation in UC patients.