Expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β in human ischemic brain tissues

AIM: To detect the expression of TNF α and IL 1β in human cerebral ischemic tissues. METHODS: 13 cerebral specimens from patients died of cerebral infarction were divided into three groups, 2 d, 3～5 d, and 5 d, according to the lasting time of infarctions. The expression of TNF α and IL 1β in the cerebral ischemic tissues were examined by immnohistochemical staining. The contralateral tissues were employed as controls. RESULTS: The expression of TNF α and IL 1β in the cerebral ischemic tissues were significant higher than those in the contralateral tissues. The focal distribution of the TNF α + and IL 1β + cells was identical with the ischemic area. The expression of IL 1β and TNF α peaked at the 3rd to 5th and 2nd day after ichemia, respectively. There were no significant difference between the ischemic and contralateral brains at the 5th day after ischemia for the expression of TNF α and IL 1β . CONCLUSION: Our results showed the expression of TNF α and IL 1β in human strok of infarction were similar to those in animal experiments. It is suggested that TNF α and IL 1β are involved in cerebral ischemic injury, which will be helpful for developing clinically a novel therapy aiming at cerebral ischemic injury.