Description
Introduction: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is one of the first cytokines ever described. Its initial discovery was as a factor that could induce fever, control lymphocytes, increase the number of bone marrow cells and cause degeneration of bone joints. At this time, IL-1 was known under several other names including endogenous pyrogen, lymphocyte activating factor, haemopoetin-1 and mononuclear cell factor, amongst others. It was around 1984-1985 when scientists confirmed that IL-1 was actually composed of two distinct proteins, now called IL-1alpha and IL-1beta.These belong to a family of cytokines known as the interleukin-1 superfamily. Both IL-1alpha and IL-1beta are produced by macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells. They form an important part of the inflammatory response of the body against infection. These cytokines increase the expression of adhesion factors on endothelial cells to enable transmigration of leukocytes, the cells that fight pathogens, to sites of infection and re-set the hypothalamus thermoregulatory center, leading to an increased body temperature which expresses itself as fever. IL-1beta precursor is cleaved by caspase 1 (interleukin 1 beta convertase). Cytosolic thiol protease cleaves the product to form mature IL-1beta. This cytokine is produced by activated macrophages as a proprotein, which is proteolytically processed to its active form by caspase 1 (CASP1/ICE). This cytokine is an important mediator of the inflammatory response, and is involved in a variety of cellular activities, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2/COX2) by this cytokine in the central nervous system (CNS) is found to contribute to inflammatory pain hypersensitivity. This gene and eight other interleukin 1 family genes form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 2.
Principle of the Assay: The microtiter plate provided in this kit has been pre-coated with an antibody specific to IL- 1beta. Standards or samples are then added to the appropriate microtiter plate wells with a biotin-conjugated antibody preparation specific for IL- 1beta and Avidin conjugated to Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) is added to each microplate well and incubated. Then a TMB (3,3',5,5' tetramethyl-benzidine) substrate solution is added to each well. Only those wells that contain IL- 1beta, biotin-conjugated antibody and enzyme-conjugated Avidin will exhibit a change in color. The enzyme-substrate reaction is terminated by the addition of a sulphuric acid solution and the color change is measured spectrophotometrically at a wavelength of 450 nm +/- 2 nm. The concentration of IL- 1beta in the samples is then determined by comparing the O.D. of the samples to the standard curve