Study on Secretion Levels of Interleukin-6 and Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factor in the Mononuclear Cells of Breast Milk

Objective To investigate the levels of interleukin-6(IL-6) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(G-CSF) secretion in mononuclear cells(MNCs) of breast milk and to evaluate the immune protective effects of both cytokines towards neonates. Methods The IL-6 and G-CSF concentration in the supernatants of cultured MNCs isolated from breast milk of 50 normal puerperants at different stages were measured by ELISA and LIBEL respectively. Results①Mitogen-stimulated MNCs of the breast milk could secrete IL-6 and G-CSF; ②The levels of IL-6 in MNCs of colostrum were significantly higher than those in transitional milk(P0.05); ③There were no significant differences between the levels of G-CSF in MNCs of colostrum and those in MNCs of transitional milk(P0.05).④ No distinct correlation existed between the levels of IL-6/G-CSF secretion in breast milk and those in peripheral blood of puerperants(P0.05). ConclusionIL-6 and G-CSF produced in mitogen-stimulated MNCs of breast milk can exert the immune protection to neonates. [