Clinical application of interleukin-11 on refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

OBJECTIVE To investigate the level of endogenous serum IL-11 before treatment in patients with refractory ITP,and observe the curative effect of recombinant human interleukin-11(rh IL-11)on refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP).METHODS The levels of IL-11 in twenty-one patients with refractory ITP were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),25 healthy subjects were enrolled as controls.Twenty-one patients with refractory ITP were injected with 50μg/kg IL-11 subcutaneously,once a day,for 14 days,to compare platelet counts before and after treatment.RESULTS The mean level of endogenous IL-11 in patients was(246.0 ± 133.5)pg/ml,which was higher than the level in control group(46.2 ± 14.2)pg/ml.Before using rh IL-11,the mean platelet counts were(14.0 ± 3.4)×109/L.On the fourteenth day of treatment,the mean platelet counts was(58.9 ± 35.1)×109/L.On the two month of treatment the mean platlet counts was(46.5 ± 29.5)×109/L,which were significant differences.CONCLUSION The endogenous IL-11 elevated in patients with ITP.rh IL-11 can improve the platelet counts in patients with refractory ITP.