Ability of lymphocytes infiltrating breast-cancer tissue to convert androstenedione

✍ Scribed by Lev M. Berstein; Tatjana E. Poroshina; Tatjana S. Zimarina; Alexei A. Larionov; Irina G. Kovalenko; Alexander V. Uporov

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 52 KB
• Volume: 77
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19980812)77:4<485::aid-ijc1>3.0.co;2-q

✦ Synopsis

Lymphocytes were isolated from 43 surgical samples of breast cancer after tumor enzyme digestion and Ficoll/ Verographine procedure. In all, 23 specimens from lymphocytic-tissue infiltrates were analyzed (in some cases, material from 2 or 3 patients was combined). The ability of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) to convert androstenedione was demonstrated, as evaluated by hard-water release from the androgenic precursor 3 H-1␤-androstenedione. In material obtained from menopausal women this ability was higher than in the women of reproductive age. A positive correlation was revealed between the level of androstenedione conversion in TIL and aromatase activity in tumor tissue, while no correlation was shown between androstenedione conversion in TIL and percentage of tumor cells in lymphocytic suspension. The data obtained suggest that factors secreted by a neoplasm are able to induce aromatase gene expression in TIL.