Nicotine (17.5 ± 2 mg/kg, 7 ± 0.8 mg/kg, s.c.)pretreatment reduced the mortality during the early phase of sepsis and reduced the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MIP-2 after 2 or 10 h of sepsis. This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and Sepsis.