Interleukin-4 and breast cancer.
IL-4 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by T lymphocytes which acts on various cells of such as T and B lymphocytes, monocytes, fibroblast, endothelial cells, macrophages and some others. IL-4 was originally described as a B cell growth factor, and now known to provide potent anti-tumor activity against various tumors, including breast cancer. IL-4 can induce apoptosis in cultured breast cancer cells. In addition, it has been clarified that IL-4 plays an important role in the regulation of estrogen synthesis enzymes including 17beta-HSD and 3beta-HSD. These findings imply that IL-4 is a key enzyme not only for Th2 type immune reactions but also for tumor cell growth itself in human breast cancer.
Nagai
S
S
Department of Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8677, Japan.
Toi
M
M
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019948:Receptors, Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D004967:Estrogens; D019948:Receptors, Interleukin-4; D015847:Interleukin-4