title: Endogenous IL-2 in cancer cells: a marker of cellular proliferation.
abstract: We have previously demonstrated that interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptors, IL-2 protein, and mRNA for IL-2 are present in human carcinomas in vitro and in vivo. Carcinoma cells synchronized in the G2/M-phase of the cell cycle express significantly more intracytoplasmic IL-2 as well as IL-2R-beta and -gamma than tumor cells in the G0/G1-phase. Here we evaluated immunohistologically the cell cycle-dependent distribution of the proliferation-associated Ki-67 antigen and expression of the cytokine IL-2 in four different carcinoma cell lines. In addition, 34 tissue samples from patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck were simultaneously analyzed for Ki-67 and IL-2 expression and the data were correlated to the histological grade of the tumors. All tumor cell lines were shown to express IL-2 in the Golgi complex. The strongest IL-2 expression was seen in tumor cells undergoing mitosis, identified by double staining with the antibody to Ki-67. In the tumor tissue, the highest level of co-expression of IL-2 and Ki-67 was observed in poorly differentiated carcinomas, with a labeling index (LI) of 67. 2% for IL-2 and 68.8% for Ki-67. Well-differentiated carcinomas showed a significantly lower expression of both proteins (LI 35.0% for IL-2 and 26.5% for Ki-67). The correlation between the labeling indices was statistically significant (r = 0.747; p<0.001). These results demonstrate that IL-2 expression in human carcinoma tissues is strongly associated with cell proliferation and significantly correlates with the histological tumor grade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stanson
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Whiteside
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D007376:Interleukin-2; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger