Growth-stimulating activity of interleukin 6 on human mammary epithelial cells transfected with the int-2 gene.
We have shown recently that normal human mammary epithelial cells do produce interleukin 6 (IL6), interleukin 8, and a nonsecreted form of tumor necrosis factor. Here we report that ductal infiltrating mammary carcinomas fail to express immunoreactive IL6. Since abnormalities of cytokine genes are a frequent event in cancer, we investigated the production of and the response to cytokines of mammary cells using a panel of oncogene-transformed cells derived from the spontaneously immortalized MCF-10A cell line. We found that only the parental line and the int-2-transformed cells responded to exogenous IL6 and/or were suppressed by IL6-neutralizing antibody. In contrast to highly transformed cells, these two lines, which were either nontransformed (MCF-10A) or weakly transformed (int-2), were found to express IL6 receptors. These data suggest that loss of IL6 pathways can be a marker of mammary cell transformation.
Basolo
F
F
Institute of Pathological Anatomy, University of Pisa Medical School, Italy.
Calvo
S
S
Fiore
L
L
Conaldi
P G
PG
Falcone
V
V
Toniolo
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001940:Breast / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002285:Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D051518:Fibroblast Growth Factor 3; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D016207:Cytokines; D051518:Fibroblast Growth Factor 3; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016209:Interleukin-8; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C496444:FGF3 protein, human; C489197:Fgf3 protein, mouse