Interleukin-10 pharmacokinetics in intact and nephrectomized mice.

The influence of kidney function on interleukin-10 (IL-10) pharmacokinetics was assessed by comparing the disappearance of IL-10 from the circulation in the intact and acutely nephrectomized mice over 1 h following a single bolus injection of E. coli-derived recombinant h IL-10 at 250 micrograms/kg i.v. The intact mice demonstrated a C(max) of 1,172 ng/ml and an AUC(tf) of 385 n g.h/ml. By comparison, there was a 4-fold elevation in C(max) and a 7-fold increase in AUC(tf) in the anephric mice. The serum IL-10 concentration at 1 h post-injection was 87 ng/ml in the intact vs 1,684 ng/ml in the anephric mice. The results imply that IL-10, in common with other cytokines, is eliminated through the kidney.