Effect of immunosuppressive drugs on cytokine production in canine whole blood stimulated with lipopolysaccharide or a combination of ionomycin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate

Abstract

A pharmacodynamic assay has been previously developed to monitor ciclosporin treatment in dogs by assessing inhibition of cytokine transcription after whole blood stimulation with 12-myristate 13-1 acetate and ionomycin (PMA/I). In this study, whole blood stimulation with either PMA/I or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to assess the effect of multiple drugs (azathioprine, ciclosporin, mycophenolate, leflunomide and prednisone) after a 7-day treatment course on production of cytokines measured with a multiplex assay in healthy dogs (n = 4 for each treatment). Interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon gamma (IFN?) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) were significantly activated by PMA/I stimula..