Severe hepatic injury in interleukin 18 (IL-18) transgenic mice: a key role for IL-18 in regulating hepatocyte apoptosis in vivo.

Background: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a cytokine with pleiotropic activity that augments T helper 1 responses and cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells. Methods: To assess the function of IL-18 in vivo, we generated IL-18 transgenic (IL-18 Tg) mice under the control of a CD2 promoter/enhancer construct. Results: Macroscopically, IL-18 Tg mice showed reduced relative liver weight compared with wild-type littermates. TUNEL assays demonstrated increased hepatocyte apoptosis, and primary hepatocytes isolated from IL-18 Tg mice exhibited an increased spontaneous apoptosis rate. Furthermore, cross linking of Fas increased significantly the apoptosis rate in hepatocytes isolated from wild- ty…