title: Effects of interleukin-11 on the proliferation and cell cycle status of myeloid leukemic cells.
abstract: Interleukin-11 (IL-11) is a pleiotropic cytokine with effects on many different targets. Within the hematopoietic system, the effects of IL-11 are largely manifest only through combination with other cytokines, including IL-3 and Steel factor (SF). In the present study, we addressed the question of IL-11 responsiveness within the different types of human leukemic cells, as well as the mechanism of action of IL-11 at the cellular level. Analysis of a panel of samples from different patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) and myeloid leukemic cell lines indicated that IL-11 alone was ineffective in supporting myeloid leukemic cell growth but frequently enhanced growth supported by IL-3, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), or SF. In contrast, three acute pre-B lymphocytic leukemia (pre-B-ALL) and two acute T lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL) lines failed to respond to IL-11 alone or when combined with other cytokines. The growth enhancement of IL-11 among the AML patient samples was dose dependent and remarkably constant with half-efficient concentrations in the range of 0.3 to 0.4 ng/mL. The thymidine suicide studies with the patient samples revealed that 40% to 50% of the blast cells were in S-phase when exposed for 16 hours to IL-3 and this level was increased to 70% to 90% in response to either IL-11 or IL-6. Our data suggest that the latter two interleukins act synergistically with the direct mitogenic factor, IL-3, in triggering AML blast-cell proliferation. Detailed analysis with several patient samples further revealed that SF and IL-11 both enhance IL-3-supported clonogenic growth of AML blasts and the combination of all three growth factors yields optimal growth. In contrast, IL-6 does not further enhance the effect of IL-11. These results indicate that SF and IL-11 enhance IL-3-dependent clonogenic growth through two distinct pathways, whereas IL-6 and IL-11 may trigger the same pathway.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cesano
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Santoli
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoang
mesh_terms: D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D017370:Interleukin-11 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000494:pharmacology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D017370:Interleukin-11; D007377:Interleukin-3; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor