Chemokinetic Effects of Exogenous and Endogenous Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha on Human Blood Monocytes

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Abstract
The possible chemokinetic effect of human tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) upon human monocytes was investigated by using a type 1 collagen gel system. Human recombinant TNF-α was found to be chemokinetic, and concentrations of that cytokine as low as 0.7 pg/μl enhanced the movement of those leukocytes. Furthermore, we explored whether endogenous TNF-α stimulates monocyte movement by incubating blood monocytes with a TNF-α-stimulating agent, human recombinant interleukin 1, with or without antibodies to human TNF-α. Human recombinant interleukin 1 enhanced the motility of blood monocytes, and that effect was blocked by rabbit polyclonal antibodies to human TNF-α. Furthermore, the movement of blood monocytes not exposed to exogenous cytokines was decreased after incubation with anti-TNF-α. Thus, endogenous as well as exogenous TNF-α is a chemokinetic agent for human monocytes.