Increased production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha interleukin-1 beta, and interleukin-6 by morphologically normal intestinal biopsies from patients with Crohn's disease.

Abstract

These consistently raised TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6 secretions by normal appearing mucosa from patients with Crohn's disease provide evidence for a sustained immune stimulation in Crohn's disease even in the absence of patent inflammation. The results shed a new light on the role of inflammatory cytokines in the onset of intestinal tissue damage in Crohn's disease and suggest that the range of intestinal lesions in Crohn's disease may be wider than suspected on the basis of regular endoscopic and histological examinations.