Yonago Acta medica 2003;46:29–34 Changes in Cytokines at Extreme Surroundings in

• Main Authors: Shinji Otani, Hiromitsu Kusagaya
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.544.8691; http://lib.med.tottori-u.ac.jp/yam/yam46-2/46_029-034.pdf

We evaluated the impact of the extreme environmental conditions at high altitudes in Antarctica on health from the viewpoint of cytokines. The subjects were 7 men who joined an inland research party participating in the 40th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. They underwent serial hematological examinations during the expedition for over 100 days at high altitudes (the highest point was 3810 m). The serum concentration of erythro-poietin (EPO) increased promptly, indicating its usefulness for altitude adaptation. The serum concentration of interleukin-6 (IL-6) increased at high altitudes, and showed 2 peaks. Changes in IL-6 levels did not correlate with arterial oxygen tension, serum C-reactive protein or EPO levels. Some psychological stress and various factors may be related to IL-6 levels. Since the subject who suffered bone fractures had a very high concentration of IL-6 and his symptoms of mountain sickness were severer than the others, elevation of IL-6 may be related with mountain sickness. All subjects remained in relatively good health for 3 months. It is thought that the human body can protect itself against extreme surroundings in Antarctica. Key words: Antarctica; cytokine; high altitude; interleukin-6; mountain sickness Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; EPO, erythropoietin; IL-6, interleukin-6; PaO2, arterial oxygen tension; RBC, red blood cell The average altitude of Antarctica is 2450 m; therefore the Antarctic inland is an extremely cold place and the air is rarefied. Confinement to Ant-arctica for certain periods and isolation from the outside world produce various sources of stress (Palinkas, 1990). Such extreme environmental con-ditions cause hypoxia, mountain sickness, frostbite, depression and so on, but it is not easy to obtain data on basic biochemical parameters. Hypoxia stimulates vascular endothelial cells, leukocytes and macrophages in vitro to release pro-inflammatory cytokines (Yan et al., 1995; Naldini et al., 1997). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a mediator of the inflammatory ...