Evaluating ESWL-induced renal injury based on urinary TNF-α, IL-1α, and IL-6 levels.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) has dramatically changed the treatment of urinary lithiasis and has been the first treatment option for the majority of patients for more than two decades. Despite its significant benefits, it induces acute renal injury that extends from the papilla to the outer cortex. We evaluated the severity of the inflammatory response to ESWL by measuring the urinary excretion of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-1α, and IL-6. The study included 21 selected patients and 14 control subjects. All patients underwent the same ESWL procedure (2,500 shockwaves at 100 shockwaves/min and 0.039 J from the lithotripter). Urine TNF-α, IL-1α, and IL-6 levels were measured using standard ELISA kits. In the study population (patients and controls), we did not detect TNF-α in the urine samples. The levels of both IL-1α (2.5 pg/ml) and IL-6 (3.8 pg/ml) measured before ESWL were not significantly different from the control group (2.5 and 5.2 pg/ml, respectively; p > 0.05). Twenty-four hours after ESWL, in contrast to IL-1α (4 pg/ml), urine IL-6 (19.7 pg/ml) increased significantly (p < 0.05). Fourteen days after ESWL, IL-1α increased to 5 pg/ml, while IL-6 (7 pg/ml) decreased to the control level. Urine cytokine levels may be used to evaluate the inflammatory response to ESWL. After ESWL, IL-6 levels increased in the early phase, while IL-1α levels increased later. These two markers may be used to measure the severity of inflammation. In contrast to IL-1α and IL-6, urine TNF-α excretion was not increased by ESWL. We believe that the inflammatory response to ESWL can be detected by the urinary excretion of IL-1α for up to 14 days.

[Studies on the level of proinflammatory cytokines IIL-1a, IL-1b, IL-6, TNF-a in pregnant women with acute pyelonephritis].

UNLABELLED: Proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1a, IL-1b, IL-6, TNF-a) are important mediators of acute inflammation. We studied the levels of those cytokines in pregnant women with acute pyelonephritis. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We studied 30 women with clinical and microbiological evidence of acute pyelonephritis and 30 healthy controls Urinary cytokine levels were measured using an ELISA test. RESULTS: The mean urinary cytokine levels of pregnant women with acute pyelonephritis were higher compared with controls. We found evidence for higher clinical microbiological activity in women with acute pyelonephritis compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS. The urinary levels of proinflamatory cytokines can be used as reliable biomarkers for acute pyelonephritis in pregnant women.

Gender-specific differences in the urinary expression of aldosterone, IL-1α and IL-1ß.

AIMS: This pilot investigation examined the possibility of using urine specimens to explore the difference between the expression of several biomarkers based on gender. These biomarkers include several associated with cardiac damage, oxidative stress and inflammation. MATERIALS & METHODS: Urine specimens were assayed for total protein, aldosterone, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, myeloperoxidase and IL-1α and -1ß using ELISA. RESULTS: We observed significant differences between the sexes for aldosterone and IL-1α and -1ß. CONCLUSION: The presence of gender-based differences in the urinary expression of these biomarkers may be important for establishing normal baseline values in males and females, and may prove to be of value in the development of rapid noninvasive ways to assess inflammatory and oxidative injury during routine urinalysis.