title: Soluble interleukin-6 receptor strongly increases the production of acute-phase protein by hepatoma cells but exerts minimal changes on human primary hepatocytes.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) interacts with a system of receptors, which include a 80-kDa IL-6-binding subunit (IL-6R) and a transducing element (gp130). The soluble form of IL-6R (sIL-6R) can bind its ligand and induce cellular responses by association with gp130, thus acting as an IL-6 agonist. We and others have previously shown that the responsiveness to IL-6 is different in hepatoma and human primary hepatocytes. We therefore compared the effects of sIL-6R on the two types of cells, and on the B9 hybridoma, another IL-6-sensitive cell line. Human primary hepatocytes, hepatoma cells PLC/PRF/5, and B9 cells were incubated with different concentrations of IL-6, sIL-6-R, or both. The hepatocyte culture supernatants were tested for their content of acute-phase proteins (APP). The proliferation of B9 cells was assessed by a colorimetric method. Results showed that sIL-6R alone markedly increased the production of APP by hepatoma cells in a dose-dependent manner, but affects only minimally primary hepatocytes and the proliferation of B9 cells. The combinations of IL-6R and its ligand enhanced the effects of Il-6 alone in both PLC/PRF/5 and B9 cells, but had no effect on primary hepatocytes. An immunohistochemical study indicated that the cell-surface expression of IL-6R was dramatically lower in hepatoma cells than in primary hepatocytes. In conclusion, our results show that the expression of IL-6R is low in the hepatoma cell PLC/PRF/5 when compared with primary hepatocytes and that this difference can, at least partly, explain their deficient responsiveness to IL-6. On the other hand, it appears that IL-6R expression by primary hepatocytes is sufficient and that circulating sIL-6R is unlikely to play a significant role in the modulation of IL6 effects.
authors.affiliation: Division de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire, Geneve, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gabay
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Silacci
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Genin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mentha
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Coultre
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Guerne
mesh_terms: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001483:Base Sequence; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6; D012995:Solubility; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin; D019947:Receptors, Interleukin-6