Background: We previously showed that the production of IL-10 (an important anti-inflammatory cytokine) by newborn monocytes is decreased. We questioned whether this was due to a decreased production of other cytokines such as TNF-α that enhance the production of IL-10, or to an impaired ability of these cells to be activated by these cytokines.

Methods: IL-10 was quantified in supernatants from adult(n=2-22) and newborn (n=6-30) blood mononuclear leukocytes(BML) cultured with LPS (1μg/mL) and/or doses of TNF-α ranging from 1.25-10 ng/mL, for 24h. The concentrations of TNF-α from supernatants of cultured adult (n=6) or newborn (n=7) BML stimulated with LPS (1μg/mL) for 6h were also quantified by ELISA. Finally, TNF-α receptors on monocytes (CD14+ cells) were detected in 5 adults and 7 newborns by two-color flow cytometry using biotinylated human recombinant TNF-α.

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