Sweep F, Rijnkels C, Hermus A
Department of Medicine, St. Radboud Hospital, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1991;125 Suppl 1:84-91.
Activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is among the endocrine changes that occur during the acute-phase response to infection or inflammation. These responses have been ascribed to the release of endogenous cytokines. In the present paper a number of studies on effects of interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis are discussed. In addition some recent data from our laboratory on acute and chronic administration of cytokines are presented. Our data show that continuous infusion of rats with IL-1 elicits a long-term activation of adrenal corticosterone (B) production, suggesting that this peptide is a mediator of the effect of infection or inflammation on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Although there is still controversy concerning the site of action of cytokines on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, there is consensus that acutely administered IL-1 increases plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels through activation of hypothalamic CRH neurons. On the other hand, it is possible that during prolonged treatment IL-1 activates the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis via a rapid effect on hypothalamic CRH neurons and via a delayed effect which results from a direct stimulation of pituitary and/or adrenal cells.
下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴的激活是感染或炎症急性期反应过程中发生的内分泌变化之一。这些反应归因于内源性细胞因子的释放。本文讨论了一些关于白细胞介素1（IL - 1）、白细胞介素2（IL - 2）、白细胞介素6（IL - 6）和肿瘤坏死因子对下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴影响的研究。此外，还展示了我们实验室最近关于细胞因子急性和慢性给药的一些数据。我们的数据表明，持续给大鼠输注IL - 1会引发肾上腺皮质酮（B）产生的长期激活，这表明该肽是感染或炎症对下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴活性影响的介质。尽管关于细胞因子在下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴上的作用位点仍存在争议，但人们一致认为，急性给予IL - 1可通过激活下丘脑促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）神经元来增加血浆促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）和皮质酮水平。另一方面，在长期治疗期间，IL - 1可能通过对下丘脑CRH神经元的快速作用以及由垂体和/或肾上腺细胞直接刺激产生的延迟作用来激活下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴。
