title: Role of interleukin-6 in the proliferation of human multiple myeloma cell lines OCI-My 1 to 7 established from patients with advanced stage of the disease.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been shown to stimulate the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells purified to a high degree from human bone marrow. IL-6 production in multiple myeloma has been attributed to cells belonging to the myeloma clone, thus supporting a mechanism of autostimulation. In addition, it has been shown that IL-6 may be produced by auxiliary cell populations of the bone marrow that are not part of the myeloma clone. A definitive separation of both putative sources for IL-6 may be difficult to achieve in fresh patient IL-6 growth requirement and production by pure myeloma cell populations using seven human myeloma cell lines (OCI-My 1 to 7) that were established from patients with advanced disease. The proliferative response of each line to recombinant IL-6 was measured in a clonogenic assay providing human plasma and methylcellulose as a viscous support and by 3H-thymidine uptake in liquid suspension culture. We observed marked heterogeneity, ranging from IL-6-dependent colony formation by OCI-My 4, to IL-6-independent growth. All lines expressed mRNA for the IL-6 receptor. Expression of IL-6 mRNA was analyzed after amplification by polymerase chain reaction and was present in five of seven lines. IL-6 protein was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the culture supernatants of two lines (OCI-My 3 and 2). Its functional activity was confirmed in a bioassay using the IL-6-dependent murine hybridoma line B 13.29. This activity was neutralized by anti-IL-6 antibody. Two lines did not express mRNA for IL-6. The remaining three lines expressed mRNA for IL-6, but did not secrete IL-6 protein. Immunoprecipitation experiments with lysates of one of these three lines did not detect the presence of IL-6 protein. These results suggest that autocrine stimulation by IL-6 may occur in some cell lines derived from patients with multiple myeloma. However, it does not represent a universal mechanism in myeloma cell growth.
authors.affiliation: Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hitzler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Martinez-Valdez
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Bergsagel
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Minden
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Messner
mesh_terms: D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6; D013997:Time Factors; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6