Peripheral helper lymphocytes produce interleukin 12 in cancer patients.

The aim of the study was to seek evidence for the production of IL-12 by CD4(+) T lymphocytes in in vitro and ex vivo trials. We performed in vitro trials with spleen cells from mice subjected to carcinogenesis, as well as ex vivo trials with cells obtained from the peripheral blood of healthy individuals and cancer patients. We were able to verify a significantly increased expression of IL-12 in CD4(+) T lymphocytes from mice and patients with tumors, compared to controls. Follow-up studies are needed to clarify whether this difference is related to being in a chronic disease state or whether it is an attempt by the immune system to produce an anti-tumor response, since T lymphocytes from healthy donors were not able to produce IL-12 when in contact with polyclonal stimuli. We concluded that, in cancer, T helper cells are capable of synthesizing IL-12, raising the question of whether we are faced with another profile, Th12.