Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Nov;135(5):746-51.

Ethanol enhances the IFN-gamma, TGF-alpha and IL-6 secretion in psoriatic co-cultures

H M Ockenfels  1 , C Keim-Maas, R Funk, G Nussbaum, M Goos
Affiliations
  • PMID: 8977675

Ethanol enhances the IFN-gamma, TGF-alpha and IL-6 secretion in psoriatic co-cultures

H M Ockenfels et al. Br J Dermatol. 1996 Nov.

Abstract

Evidence suggests an association between alcohol consumption and psoriasis. This relationship is still undefined, although long-term alcohol intake influences the immune system. Interactions between T cells and keratinocytes are important for the pathogenesis of psoriasis, by secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in psoriatic skin. IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-gamma and TGF-alpha are hallmark cytokines in a psoriatic cytokine network. We investigated whether ethanol influences the secretion of these cytokines using a co-culture model with keratinocytes from psoriatic patients (n = 9) or from healthy controls (n = 9), with HUT 78 lymphocytes, and determined the cytokine levels with or without ethanol treatment in the culture supernatants. TGF-alpha and IFN-gamma levels were elevated in the ethanol-treated psoriatic co-cultures, to 150% and 175% respectively, but neither in co-cultures with keratinocytes derived from healthy control individuals nor in monocultures. Treatment with ethanol elevated slightly the IL-6 levels in the monocultures from psoriatic and control keratinocytes to 125% but not in HUT 78 monocultures. In the psoriatic co-cultures, IL-6 levels were elevated in the culture supernatants to almost 160%, but they were not influenced by ethanol in co-cultures with control keratinocytes. The cytokine levels of IL-8 or IL-2 were not significantly influenced in the psoriatic mono- and co-cultures or in HUT 78 cultures. If ethanol influences the cytokine secretion of psoriatic keratinocytes and HUT 78 lymphocytes in co-culture conditions, these data suggest that ethanol could also influence the psoriatic cytokine network in vivo, which may explain the explain the aggravation of this disease in alcohol-consuming psoriatic patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources