Il-6 and Il-10 Expression in Brain Tissue in Children and Adults after Fatal Traumatic Brain Injury

Introduction. One of the leading secondary damage processes determining the outcome of head injury is cerebral ischemia. The inflammatory reactions are important factors in cases of ischemic brain damage. Some studies characterize generalized reactions of cytokines in brain, but there are less studies about inflammatory reactions in the determined areas of the brain in different time points.
Aim of the study. To determine the reaction of brain tissue after fatal brain injury in different time points after the trauma, by detecting IL-6 in the pyramidal neurons of CNS gray matter (GM) and in the white substance (WS) and IL-10 in the WS of the impact and counterstroke areas.
Materials and methods. We used brain tissue material from the trauma and counterstroke spots of 11 patients died after fatal traumatic brain injury in different time points. Brain tissue specimens were routinely fixed, embedded into paraffin, cut in 5 μm thick slides. For immunohistochemistry we used monoclonal antibodies against recombinant IL-6 of human origin and polyclonal rabbit antibodies against IL-10 of human.
Results. There were found statistically significant differences in IL-6 positive neurons in the GM, and IL-6 and IL-10 positive glial cell numbers in the WS in the spot of counterstroke and in the spot of direct impact in both patient groups (Mann-Whitney U Test p ≤ 0,001 for all groups).
Conclusions. The IL-6 and IL-10 positive glial cell numbers correlate with the outcome of trauma. The inflammatory reaction in the WS in the spot of counterstroke was more marked than in the spot of direct impact. The activity of inflammatory reaction depends on the time period after the traumatic event.