Defective development of pristane-oil-induced plasmacytomas in interleukin-6-deficient BALB/c mice.
Interleukin (IL)-6 is known to be an essential growth factor for myeloma cells, both in vitro and in vivo. In mice, IL-6 is required for development of B cell tumors upon infection with a retrovirus expressing the myc/raf oncogenes. In the present study, we used the pristane-oil-induced plasmacytoma model, which more closely mimics tumor transformation and progression in human multiple myeloma. Also using this system, we found that IL-6-deficient BALB/c mice are protected against tumor development. Although the pristane-induced inflammatory reaction was less pronounced in IL-6-deficient mice versus their wild-type littermates, both B cell differentiation and plasma cell formation took place, and even morphological evidence of plasma cell transformation was detected, albeit at a low frequency. However, in the absence of IL-6, there were never signs of uncontrolled proliferation of either normal B lymphocytes or tumor cells, suggesting that the role of IL-6 in murine plasmacytoma and possibly also in human multiple myeloma is to ensure abnormal survival and proliferation of previously transformed tumor cells and therefore tumor development and progression.
Lattanzio
G
G
Dipartimento di Patologia Umana e Medicina Sociale, Università di Chieti, Italy.
Libert
C
C
Aquilina
M
M
Cappelletti
M
M
Ciliberto
G
G
Musiani
P
P
Poli
V
V
D000818:Animals; D001201:Ascites / Q000473:pathology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000473:pathology; D010954:Plasmacytoma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*; D013729:Terpenes; D013997:Time Factors
D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; D015850:Interleukin-6; D013729:Terpenes; C009042:pristane