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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, May 1996, 257-259, Vol 3, No. 3
Copyright © 1996 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Elevated concentrations of interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in plasma of women with silicone breast implants

EA Ojo-Amaize, OJ Lawless and JB Peter
Specialty Laboratories, Inc., Santa Monica, California 90404-3900, USA.

Plasma from 27 women with silicone breast implants (SBIs) and 50 age- matched control women without SBIs were examined by enzyme immunoassay for the presence of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and its naturally occurring receptor antagonist, IL-1ra. The results show that 74% (20 of 27) of women with SBIs had elevated concentrations of IL-1ra, whereas only 2% (1 of 50) of controls without SBIs had elevated concentrations of IL-1ra. In contrast to the IL-1ra results, the frequency of elevated IL-1 beta concentrations among women with SBIs was only 40% (11 of 27), but this was significantly higher than the 0% (0 of 50) in control women without SBIs. These findings suggest that there is a chronic ongoing inflammatory process in some women with SBIs, the implications of which are discussed in the context of silicone as an antigenic stimulant of the immune system.