Enhanced production of IL-1β and IL-6 following endotoxin challenge in rats with dietary magnesium deficiency

Serum IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF alpha were not detected in control and Mg-deficient rats. These three cytokine levels in serum were increased after endotoxin challenge (1 mg/kg., i.p.), and the increase of IL-1 beta and IL-6, but not TNFa, was significantly larger in Mg-deficient rats than in controls. Levels of mRNA for IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF alpha in alveolar macrophages showed a tendency to decrease during Mg deficiency, but the levels of IL-1 beta and TNF alpha mRNAs after endotoxin challenge were higher in Mg-deficient rats than in controls. These results suggest that the increased synthesis of cytokines by alveolar macrophages might contribute, in part, to high sensitivity to endotoxin during Mg deficiency.