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The detection and measurement of interleukin-6 in venous and capillary blood samples, and in sweat collected at rest and during exercise

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to quantify the relationship between venous and capillary blood sampling methods for the measurement of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6). A parallel study was conducted to determine the possibility of measuring IL-6 in sweat using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and investigate the relationship between plasma- and sweat-derived measures of IL-6.

Methods

Twelve male participants were recruited for the measurement of IL-6 at rest and during exercise (study 1). An additional group of five female participants was recruited for the measurement of IL-6 in venous blood versus sweat at rest and following exercise (study 2). In study 1, venous and capillary blood samples were collected at rest and in response to exercise. In study 2, venous and sweat samples were collected following exercise.

Results

Mean plasma IL-6 concentration was not different between venous and capillary blood sampling methods either at rest (4.27 ± 5.40 vs. 4.14 ± 4.45 pg ml−1), during (5.40 ± 5.17 vs. 5.58 ± 6.34 pg ml−1), or in response to exercise (6.95 ± 6.37 vs. 6.99 ± 6.74 pg ml−1). There was no IL-6 detectable in sweat either at rest or following exercise.

Conclusion

There are no differences in the measurement of plasma IL-6 using either venous or capillary blood sampling methods. Capillary measurement represents a minimally invasive way of measuring IL-6 and detecting changes in IL-6, which are linked to fatigue and overtraining.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

MID:

Mid-exercise

POST:

Post-exercise

PRE:

Pre-exercise

PRE (2):

Repeated pre-exercise

rhIL-6:

Recombinant IL-6

\(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{ 2 {\text{peak}}}}\) :

Peak oxygen consumption

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Diet, Lifestyle & Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit based at University Hospitals of Leicester and Loughborough University. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The authors were fully responsible for conducting the trial and analysing the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK

    Steve H. Faulkner, Kate L. Spilsbury, James Harvey, Andrew Jackson, Jingfeng Huang & Myra A. Nimmo

  2. Institute for Sports Research, Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore

    James Harvey, Jingfeng Huang & Alfred Tok

  3. Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK

    Mark Platt

Authors
  1. Steve H. Faulkner
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  2. Kate L. Spilsbury
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  3. James Harvey
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  4. Andrew Jackson
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  5. Jingfeng Huang
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  6. Mark Platt
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  7. Alfred Tok
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  8. Myra A. Nimmo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Myra A. Nimmo.

Additional information

Communicated by Fabio Fischetti.

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Faulkner, S.H., Spilsbury, K.L., Harvey, J. et al. The detection and measurement of interleukin-6 in venous and capillary blood samples, and in sweat collected at rest and during exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 114, 1207–1216 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2851-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2851-8

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