Retroviral interleukin 4 gene transfer into an interleukin 4-dependent cell line results in autocrine growth but not in tumorigenicity.
A retroviral vector has been constructed containing the mouse interleukin 4 (IL 4) gene under the transcriptional control of the thymidine kinase promoter. Infection of the IL 4-dependent T cell line CT4S by the thymidine kinase IL 4 construct resulted in factor-independent growth. The infected cells grow as a consequence of continuous consumption of the endogenously produced IL 4. Clones were established secreting different amounts of IL 4 but none of them was capable of growing in vivo. The lack of correlation between factor-independent growth and tumorigenicity distinguishes IL 4 from other growth factors and could reflect the recently reported activity of IL 4 to suppress tumor growth in vivo.
Blankenstein
T
T
Institut für Immunologie, Klinikum Steglitz, Freie Universität Berlin, FRG.
Li
W Q
WQ
Müller
W
W
Diamantstein
T
T
D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000209:etiology*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection
D015847:Interleukin-4