Elevated serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) is derived from neoplastic lymphoid cells in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: correlation with extent of IL-6 expression and serum concentration.
We investigated the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA in tumours from 21 patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Total RNA, extracted from diagnostic tissue specimens, was subjected to semi-quantitative analysis for IL-6 mRNA by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The amount of IL-6 mRNA ws semi-quantified against that in pokeweed mitogen (PWM) stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The expression of IL-6 in neoplastic B cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. We then looked for correlations between the amount of IL-6 concentrations. The amount of IL-6 mRNA correlated with the circulating IL-6 concentration, suggesting that the malignant cells were the source of IL-6 in these patients with B-cell NHL. Our results suggest that the circulating IL-6 in patients with B-cell NHL is derived from the neoplastic lymphoid cells, and that neoplastic cells may act as modulators of the general status of patients with B-cell NHL.
Kato
H
H
First Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Kinoshita
T
T
Suzuki
S
S
Nagasaka
T
T
Murate
T
T
Saito
H
H
Hotta
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism
D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger