CYTOKINE PRODUCTION BY HUMAN SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS - IMPLICATIONS FOR IMMUNOSUPPRESSION WITHIN THE TUMOR BED

The local immune response to the presence of tumour is affected by the pattern of cytokine production within the tumour bed. The purpose of this study was to define the pattern of cytokine production in human s oft tissue sarcomas, attempting to identify potential immune suppressi on. Total RNA was extracted from six human soft tissue sarcomas from w hich cDNA was generated. PCR was carried out in the presence of primer pairs for G3PDH, TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2, TNF-alpha, INF-gamma, IL-2 a nd IL-10. TGF-beta 1 and IL-10 mRNA was detected in all tumours, howev er, mRNA for IL-2 and INF-gamma was detected in only two out of six sa rcomas. Paraffin sections were incubated with alpha-hu-TGF-beta 1 or a lpha-hu-IL-10 antibodies to localize protein production. TGF-beta 1 an d IL-10 protein expression was only associated with the tumour cells. These findings suggest potential local immune suppression within the t umour bed.