ELEVATED LEVELS OF GM-CSF AND IL-1 IN THE SERUM, PERITONEAL AND PLEURAL CAVITIES OF GM-CSF TRANSGENIC MICE

Abstract

Levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the peritoneal and pleural cavity fluid of two lines of GM-CSF transgenic mice were abnormally high (up to 120,000 U/ml), often exceeded the elevated serum GM-CSF levels in these mice and correlated with the increased number of macrophages present. In the peritoneal fluid, the only significant elevations of IL-1 levels were seen in moribund male-line transgenic mice. In contrast, IL-1 levels in pleural cavity fluid of male-line transgenic mice were clearly higher than those in littermate control mice or female-line transgenic mice. In male-line transgenic mice, IL-1 levels in both peritoneal and pleural cavities correlate..