Increased interleukin 1 receptor, type I, at messenger RNA and protein level in skin fibroblasts from patients with systemic sclerosis.

Summary. To elucidate the mechanisms of the fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc) through the action of a cytokine, interleukin 1 (IL-1), we studied the specific biologic and biochemical features of interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R) as expressed on the surfaces of fibroblast cells in cultures from 3 SSc patients and 3 normal donors. 125I-IL-1 beta binding assays revealed a high density of IL-1R on the cell surfaces of SSc fibroblasts as compared to those of normal subjects. We also found an enhanced expression of IL-1R messenger RNA (mRNA) in SSc fibroblasts, using Northern blot or slot blot analysis. These findings indicate that the expression of IL-1R on SSc fibroblasts were spontaneously induced at the transcriptional level. It is suggested that SSc fibroblasts are more sensitive to IL-1, and that the signal transduction of IL-1 through IL-1R may be eventually involved in the fibrosis of SSc.