Expression of interleukin 6 and its receptor in human gastric and colorectal cancers.
Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with many physiological functions. The present study was designed to determine the expression of IL-6 and its receptor (IL-6R) in human gastric and colorectal cancers. Nine gastric- and nine colorectal cancer cell lines were analysed. The IL-6 gene was expressed in two gastric cancer cell lines and one colorectal cancer cell line; however, most of the cancer cell lines studied expressed the IL-6R gene. The level of IL-6 secretion in the gastric cancer cell lines correlated with the level of soluble IL-6R secretion, and was significantly higher (< approximately 100 pg/ml) than the level of IL-6 secretion in the colorectal cancer cell lines (< approximately 50 pg/ml). These results suggest that IL-6 may act in a paracrine fashion rather than an autocrine fashion in these cell lines.
Matsuo
K
K
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan.
Oka
M
M
Murase
K
K
Soda
H
H
Isomoto
H
H
Takeshima
F
F
Mizuta
Y
Y
Murata
I
I
Kohno
S
S
D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D015850:Interleukin-6