Events leading to septic death from experimental acute pyelonephritis in the monkey.

Experimental acute pyelonephritis in monkeys led to death in some of the animals following renal E. coli inoculation. It was found that both the inflammatory response and cytokine activation were much more severe in these monkeys as compared with others that survived. IL-1 was decreased just before death, and there were early increases in IL-2 and IL-6 serum concentrations, but no significant increase in TNF values. The data suggest that death in sepsis is due in part to excessive cytokine release because of a decrease in the protective activity of IL-1.