PRESENCE OF INTERLEUKIN-10 TRANSCRIPTS IN HUMAN PITUITARY AND HYPOTHALAMUS

1. Recent data have shown that interleukin-10 (IL-10) is expressed and acts in mouse pituitary tumor cells and freshly isolated mouse pituit aries. 2. In this study, we show that poly(A(+)) RNA derived from norm al human pituitary and hypothalamus expresses IL-10 message. 3. The ma jority of transcripts was likely from the pituitary and hypothalamus, and not from lymphocytes in the pituitary and hypothalamic vasculature , since both IL-10 and interferon-gamma mRNA levels, compared to equiv alent amounts of RNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes, were much lowe r. 4. These results indicate that IL-10 may function in human neuroend ocrine processes as it does in the murine system, thus serving as an i mportant signal molecule for bidirectional communication between the n euroendocrine and the immune systems.