Perez Castro C, Carbia Nagashima A, Páez Pereda M, Goldberg V, Chervin A, Carrizo G, Molina H, Renner U, Stalla G K, Arzt E
Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Biología, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
J Endocrinol. 2001 Jun;169(3):539-47. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.1690539.
Two of the most potent cytokines regulating anterior pituitary cell function are leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and interleukin (IL)-6, which belong to the cytokine family using the common gp130 signal transducer. Recently, the expression and action of two other members of this family, IL-11 and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), on different cell lines has also been demonstrated. We studied the expression of the specific receptor subunits for CNTF in mammotropic, non-functioning and somatotropic tumors and the action of CNTF and IL-11 in the regulation of hormone secretion in these and normal pituitary cells. The mRNA for the alpha chain specific for the CNTF receptor was detected by Northern blot in tumors secreting prolactin (PRL) and GH and in non-functioning tumors. We found that both IL-11 and CNTF exerted a similar stimulatory effect on GH mRNA expression in somatotropic monolayer cell cultures from acromegalic tumors, but these cytokines had no significant influence on GH secretion. CNTF stimulates prolactin secretion in lactotropic monolayer cell cultures from patients with prolactinoma. In monolayer cell cultures from normal rat anterior pituitary, IL-11 and CNTF had no significant effect on the release of either GH or PRL, or on GH mRNA. However, when the cells were cultured in aggregate cultures, in which the three-dimensional structure of the cells is reconstituted, both cytokines, in doses at which they had no effect on monolayer cultures, significantly stimulated both PRL and GH secretion. These data show that IL-11 and CNTF may act as regulatory factors in anterior pituitary cells, in which the three-dimensional structure of the gland is of critical importance.
调节垂体前叶细胞功能的两种最有效的细胞因子是白血病抑制因子（LIF）和白细胞介素（IL）-6，它们属于使用共同gp130信号转导子的细胞因子家族。最近，该家族的另外两个成员IL-11和睫状神经营养因子（CNTF）在不同细胞系中的表达和作用也得到了证实。我们研究了CNTF特异性受体亚基在催乳素瘤、无功能瘤和生长激素瘤中的表达，以及CNTF和IL-11在调节这些肿瘤细胞和正常垂体细胞激素分泌中的作用。通过Northern印迹法在分泌催乳素（PRL）和生长激素（GH）的肿瘤以及无功能肿瘤中检测到了CNTF受体特异性α链的mRNA。我们发现，IL-11和CNTF对来自肢端肥大症肿瘤的生长激素单层细胞培养物中的GH mRNA表达具有相似的刺激作用，但这些细胞因子对GH分泌没有显著影响。CNTF可刺激来自催乳素瘤患者的催乳素单层细胞培养物中催乳素的分泌。在正常大鼠垂体前叶的单层细胞培养物中，IL-11和CNTF对GH或PRL的释放以及GH mRNA均无显著影响。然而，当细胞在聚集培养物中培养时（细胞的三维结构得以重建），这两种细胞因子在对单层培养物无影响的剂量下，均显著刺激了PRL和GH的分泌。这些数据表明，IL-11和CNTF可能在前叶垂体细胞中作为调节因子发挥作用，其中腺体的三维结构至关重要。
