Insulin regulates IL-1alpha, Ifn-y and IL-4 release from murine splenocytes stimulated with staphylococcal protein A, toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 and streptococcal lysin S.

In this study, changes were investigated in release of IL-1alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-4 from mouse splenocytes stimulated with staphylococcal protein A (SpA), toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) or streptococcal lysin S (SLS) in the presence of insulin. The results show that insulin-treated splenocytes stimulated by SpA had a 25% increase in IFN-gamma release and a 50% decrease in IL-4 compared with splenocytes treated with SpA alone. IL-1alpha release was unchanged compared with controls. Insulintreated splenocytes stimulated with TSST-1 had a 30% fall in IL-1alpha and IFN-gamma release compared with controls. There were no changes in IL-4 release. Splenocytes stimulated with SLS after insulin treatment increased their release of IL-1alpha and IFN-gamma by 50%, whereas IL-4 release was unchanged. The data suggest that the insulin may have important functional implications in immunoregulation.