Rezai A R, Rezai A, Martínez-Maza O, Vander-Meyden M, Weiss M H
Department of Neurological Surgery, New York University Medical Center, NY.
J Neurooncol. 1994;19(2):131-5. doi: 10.1007/BF01306454.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine which plays a role in the stimulation, inhibition, differentiation, and regulation of cell growth. IL-6 has been shown to act as an autocrine growth factor in several tumors, and is expressed by a variety of tumors. IL-6 also exhibits a regulatory role in the hypothalamo-pituitary axis. It is produced by both the hypothalamus and the pituitary, and it induces the secretion of anterior pituitary hormones. Because of the regulatory role of IL-6 in tumor growth and its involvement in the pituitary, we decided to evaluate IL-6 and IL-6 receptor expression in pituitary tumors. For this purpose we utilized complimentary cDNA probes specific for the IL-6 and IL-6 receptor mRNA, as well as monoclonal anti-IL-6 antibodies for immunohistochemical analysis. Our results show that the IL-6 gene is expressed in the normal pituitary tissue. However, the non-functioning and functioning pituitary tumors such as the prolactin and growth hormone secreting tumors express increased levels of the IL-6 gene. The IL-6 receptor gene was only expressed in the prolactin secreting and non-functioning pituitary tumors. These results show that the IL-6 and IL-6 receptor gene expression is enhanced in pituitary tumors, thus suggesting a possible role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of these tumors.
白细胞介素-6（IL-6）是一种多功能细胞因子，在细胞生长的刺激、抑制、分化及调节过程中发挥作用。IL-6已被证明在多种肿瘤中作为自分泌生长因子起作用，且由多种肿瘤表达。IL-6在下丘脑-垂体轴中也发挥调节作用。它由下丘脑和垂体产生，并诱导垂体前叶激素的分泌。由于IL-6在肿瘤生长中的调节作用及其与垂体的关联，我们决定评估垂体肿瘤中IL-6和IL-6受体的表达。为此，我们使用了针对IL-6和IL-6受体mRNA的互补DNA探针，以及用于免疫组织化学分析的单克隆抗IL-6抗体。我们的结果表明，IL-6基因在正常垂体组织中表达。然而，无功能和有功能的垂体肿瘤，如分泌催乳素和生长激素的肿瘤，IL-6基因的表达水平升高。IL-6受体基因仅在分泌催乳素的垂体肿瘤和无功能垂体肿瘤中表达。这些结果表明，垂体肿瘤中IL-6和IL-6受体基因表达增强，从而提示IL-6在这些肿瘤发病机制中可能发挥作用。
