title: Interleukin-10 gene expression in adult T-cell leukemia.
abstract: We studied the serum levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), in patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) infection. Elevated IL-10 levels were observed in 33 of 45 patients with ATL. Fresh leukemic cells from ATL patients as well as HTLV-I-infected T-cell lines MT-2, SLB-1, and C10/MJ expressed IL-10 mRNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, whereas IL-10 mRNA was not detected in normal peripheral mononuclear cells and an uninfected T-cell line Jurkat. IL-10 protein was also detected in the culture medium of leukemic cells from ATL patients as well as these HTLV-I-infected cell lines, and in the extracellular fluids of ATL patients. Interestingly, MT-4 cells, which did not express Tax although transformed by HTLV-I, did not express IL-10 at either the mRNA or protein level. To elucidate the role of the HTLV-I encoded transactivator Tax in IL-10 gene expression, Jurkat cells were transfected with a Tax expression plasmid. In transiently transfected Jurkat cells, endogenous IL-10 mRNA expression was induced by Tax. Stably transfected Jurkat cell lines expressed IL-10 mRNA and secreted IL-10 protein into the culture medium. The nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B pathway is a target for Tax transactivation. We treated MT-2 cells with phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides to the p65 subunit of NF-kappa B. A reduction in the expression of p65 was accompanied by a reduction in IL-10 gene expression and IL-10 production. We showed that the IL-10 kappa B-like sites ( kappa B1,-2,034 to -2,025; kappa B2, -1,961 to -1,952; kappa B3, -452 to -443) specifically formed a complex with NF-kappa B-containing nuclear extract from MT-2 cells and that NF-kappa B bound with the highest affinity to the kappa B2 element (kappa B2 > kappa B3 > kappa B1). These data suggest a general role for NF-kappa B activation in the induction of IL-10 gene transcription. Activation of IL-10 in HTLV-I-infected cells may contribute to the pathology associated with HTLV-I infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine 90048, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mougdil
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eto
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prager
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry; D015973:Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D016356:Gene Products, tax; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D016328:NF-kappa B; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D016753:Interleukin-10