Cytokines are important immunological regulators. The excessive increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines concentration leads to the pathological condition known as a “cytokine storm”. The promising method for the cytokine concentration reducing can be the specific oligopeptide ligands applying.

Objective. To investigate the effectiveness of the oligopeptides immobilized on a polymer gel to reduce concentration of TNF-, IL-6 and IL-8 in human blood plasma.

Materials and methods. We used specific synthetic oligopeptides immobilized on a polyacrylamide gel by radical polymerization. The oligopeptides effectiveness was assessed by the change in the cytokine concentration before and after contact plasma with immobilized peptides. The cytokine concentration was determined by enzyme immunoassay.

Results. The nonspecific cytokines adsorption on polyacrylamide gel without oligopeptides was 30.09 [27.43—30.91] pg/ml for TNF-alpha, 28.55 [28.02—33.14] pg/ml for IL-8, 37.63 [29.23—38.84] pg/ml for IL-6. Experiments showed that immobilized TNF-specific peptides reduce the cytokine concentration by 191.33 [162.51—237.31] pg or 6.35 [5.40—7.95]×109 molecules per 1 ml of gel; peptides specific for IL-8 reduce the cytokine concentration by 184.10 [167.53—223.13] pg or 6.15 [5.55—7.45]×109 IL-8 molecules per 1 ml of gel. The immobilized IL-6-specific oligopeptides reduce the cytokine concentration by 88.64 [71.47—119.99] pg or 2.30 [1.85—3.10]×109 IL-6 molecules per 1 ml of gel.

Conclusions. The interaction of human plasma with immobilized oligopeptides specific for proinflammatory cytokines is an effective way to reduce the cytokine concentration. The date obtained can be used to develop medical devices (hemosorbents) capable of reducing the concentration of cytokines.