Interleukin-1 levels in blister fluids of some skin diseases with blister formation.

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) concentrations in 32 blister fluid samples from 26 patients with several bullous dermatoses were determined using a radioimmunoassay technique in order to investigate the relation between IL-1 levels and blister formation. In epidermolysis bullosa, cases with the recessive dystrophic type showed normal levels, but about half of the cases of the simplex type demonstrated high levels. In autoimmune bullous diseases a tendency to higher levels was observed, and especially a patient with herpes gestationis had remarkably high levels. The high IL-1 levels in 25% (3/12) of samples from burn patients are probably related to the severity of inflammation and the duration after bulla formation. Since the IL-1 levels showed no great change in time courses of days, observations in the shorter term, i.e. in the course of hours, will be more useful.