Mb. Crichton et al., EXPRESSION OF TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERLEUKIN-6 AND RELATED CYTOKINES BY HUMAN BREAST-TUMORS, BREAST-CANCER CELLS, AND ADIPOSE STROMAL CELLS, Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 118(1-2), 1996, pp. 215-220
The expression of transcripts of cytokines of the interleukin-6 (IL-6)
family has been examined in human breast tumors, breast cancer cell l
ines, and adipose stromal cells, by means of reverse transcription pol
ymerase chain reaction amplification. Of the six breast tumor samples
examined, all expressed transcripts encoding IL-6, and Leukemia Inhibi
tory Factor (LIF). Four of the samples also expressed transcripts for
oncostatin M(OSM) and IL-11, end three expressed the IL-6 receptor. Ad
ipose stromal cells expressed IL-6, IL-11 and LIF, but not the IL-6 re
ceptor. consistent with previous conclusions that IL-6 activity in the
se cells required addition of IL-6 soluble receptor. In the case of T4
7D cells, expression of IL-11 protein was confirmed by immunotitration
. Moreover, in these cells, expression of IL-11 transcripts was induce
d 3-fold by addition of estradiol to the culture medium. These results
add credence to our previous proposal that breast cancer development
is regulated in part by local autocrine and paracrine mechanisms via e
pithelial/mesenchymal interactions, in which estrogen produced by stro
mal cells surrounding the tumor acts to stimulate the production of gr
owth factors and cytokines by the tumor cells. Some of these may act t
o stimulate further the growth and development of the tumor, while the
se or other factors may act on the surrounding mesenchymal cells in a
paracrine fashion to stimulate aromatase expression in the presence of
glucocorticoids. Thus, a positive feedback loop is established which
leads to the development and growth of the tumor.