Involvement of interleukin-6 in the biology and metastatic activity of B16F10 melanoma cells.
In previous studies, we demonstrated the presence of the interleukin-2 (IL-2) signalling system in B16F10 murine melanoma and observed that in vitro treatment of B16F10 cells with IL-2, enhanced metastasis. To further understand the role played by interleukins in melanoma, we examined the effect of IL-6 on the metastatic activity and properties of B16 melanoma cells. We observed that B16F10 cells, cultured in the presence of IL-6, showed a clear increase in their metastatic ability, both in the liver and in the lungs. Neither cell proliferation nor in vitro colony formation were affected by IL-6; however, the expression of CD44 and VLA-4 increased. The IL-6 gene was expressed in B16F10 cells as shown by RT-PCR. A slight induction of IL-6 mRNA expression by IL-2 was observed, but not after treatment with IL-1beta or IL-6. Nevertheless, no soluble IL-6 could be detected in cell supernatants even after treatment with IL-2. Finally, we tested the effect of IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-2 on the expression of the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R). IL-1beta turned out to be the strongest inducer of IL-2R expression in B16F10 cells. Altogether, these data confirm the involvement of interleukins in the biology and metastatic activity of melanoma.
Department of Cell Biology and Morphological Sciences, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of the Basque Country, Vizcaya, Spain.
García de Galdeano
D
D
Boyano
I
I
Smith-Zubiaga
A
A
Alvarez
I
I
Cantón
L
L
Cañavate
D000818:Animals; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000556:secondary; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D015850:Interleukin-6; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2