Vink A, Coulie P, Warnier G, Renauld J C, Stevens M, Donckers D, Van Snick J
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels, Belgium.
J Exp Med. 1990 Sep 1;172(3):997-1000. doi: 10.1084/jem.172.3.997.
Murine plasmacytomas show a striking dependence on interleukin 6 (IL-6) for their growth in vitro. Here, we present evidence suggesting that IL-6 also plays an essential role in the in vivo development of these tumors. This conclusion is based on the finding that the tumorigenicity of an IL-6-dependent plasmacytoma cell line was increased approximately 100-fold on transfection with an IL-6 expression vector, whereas it was inhibited in animals treated with monoclonal antibodies capable of blocking the binding of IL-6 to its receptor. Injection of these antibodies 1 d before tumor challenge protected greater than 50% of the mice and retarded tumor growth in all animals. Tumors arising in antibody-treated mice retained their IL-6 dependence in vitro, suggesting that the level of protection could be improved if stronger IL-6 antagonists were available.
小鼠浆细胞瘤在体外生长时对白细胞介素6（IL-6）表现出显著依赖性。在此，我们提供证据表明IL-6在这些肿瘤的体内发生过程中也起着至关重要的作用。这一结论基于以下发现：用IL-6表达载体转染后，一株依赖IL-6的浆细胞瘤细胞系的致瘤性增加了约100倍，而在用能够阻断IL-6与其受体结合的单克隆抗体处理的动物中，致瘤性受到抑制。在肿瘤攻击前1天注射这些抗体可保护超过50%的小鼠，并延缓所有动物的肿瘤生长。在抗体处理的小鼠中产生的肿瘤在体外仍保持对IL-6的依赖性，这表明如果有更强的IL-6拮抗剂，保护水平可能会提高。
