The role of interleukin-6 in inhibition of lung metastasis in subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice.

Abstract

Metastasis is the most important factor for prognosis in cancer patients, and its occurrence is largely associated with host immune response. We found that the presence of a growing tumor of colon 26, a mouse colon cancer cell line, completely inhibited lung colony formation in a mouse injected with colon 26 intravenously, whereas depletion of effector cells, such as natural killer and T cell subsets, did not affect antimetastasis of colon 26. Since colon 26 releases large amounts of interleukin-6 (IL-6) spontaneously, we studied the association of IL-6 with lung metastasis. Serum IL-6 level increased gradually and reached 12.6 pg/ml five days after inoculation of colon 26 in the back of mice, while at the same time, lung colony formation was inhibited. Moreover, expression of IL-6 mRNA in lung was observed to be associated with elevated serum IL-6 level. We show the first evidence that inhibition of lung metastases in tumor-bearing mice by colon 26 is closely associated with an increase in serum IL-6, but not in cellular immunity.

• Authors: K Inoue, S Okabe, E Sueoka, N Sueoka, T Tabei, M Suganuma
• Journal: Oncology reports (Oncol Rep) 2000 Jan-Feb Vol. 7 Issue 1 Pg. 69-73 ISSN: 1021-335X [Print] Greece
• PMID: 10601594 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Interleukin-6

Topics

• Animals
• Interleukin-6 (blood, genetics, physiology)
• Lung Neoplasms (prevention & control, secondary)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Neoplasms, Experimental (immunology)
• Rats
• Skin Neoplasms (immunology)
• T-Lymphocytes (physiology)
• Tumor Cells, Cultured