title: Neoplastic and reactive human astrocytes express interleukin-8 gene.
abstract: Expression of lymphokine genes in the human astroglial cell lineage was studied. Primers for 9 different human lymphokines, from IL-1 alpha to IL-8, were used to analyze RNA transcripts in 5 cultured human astrocytoma cell lines and fresh brain specimens by PCR. mRNA transcripts for IL-8 were detected in all neuroglial cells. In addition to the cultured cells, we examined IL-8 gene expression within human malignant astrocytoma, peritumoral brain and autopsied normal brains. The result shows that tumor and cells of the surrounding reactive lesion express IL-8 genes, but it is not expressed in normal brains. Next, the concentration of IL-8 in supernatants of cultured cells was measured quantitatively by a solid phase ELISA assay. IL-8 activity was produced constitutively in all astrocytomas and increased markedly upon stimulation with IL-1 beta or TNF alpha, in both a time- and dose-dependent fashion. From these results, it is suspected that astroglial cell-derived IL-8 may take part in neutrophil-mediated inflammation which accompanies infection, degeneration and malignancy in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nitta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Allegretta
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steinman
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D002460:Cell Line; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000235:genetics*; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D016209:Interleukin-8; D008222:Lymphokines