Suppression of food intake during infection: is interleukin-1 involved?

Loss of food appetite is a common manifestation of acute infectious illness and is believed to contribute to the negative nitrogen balance and loss of body weight that is seen during infection. The frequency with which anorexia occurs with infection suggests that it may be part of the acute phase response. In the present experiments, food intake of fasted rats was suppressed following injection of interleukin-1, a polypeptide that mediates many host responses to infection. We conclude that infection-induced anorexia is, in part, due to the release of interleukin-1.