Expression of interleukin (IL)-12 mRNA in gastric carcinoma specimens: Cellular antitumor immune responses
✍ Scribed by Katano, Mitsuo; Nakamura, Mitsunari; Kuwahara, Atsuo; Fujimoto, Kazuma; Matsunaga, Hisashi; Miyazaki, Kohji; Morisaki, Takashi
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 742 KB
- Volume
- 67
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-4790
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✦ Synopsis
Background and Objectives: Several tumor-related antigen peptides that are recognized by autologous cytolytic T cells (CTL) have been reported. However, most human solid tumors, including gastric carcinoma, are only weakly immunogenic. In this study, we focused on interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-␥ (IFN-␥) as key cytokines for estimating positive cellular immune responses. Methods: To estimate the immunogenicity of gastric carcinomas, we examined IL-12 and IFN-␥ at mRNA levels by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction assay (RT-PCR) in tumor specimens and adjacent nontumor specimens from 36 gastric carcinoma patients. Results: IL-12 expression was detected in 12 tumor specimens and in only two adjacent nontumor specimens (P ס .003). The frequency of IFN-␥ gene expression was higher in the IL-12 mRNA-positive tumor specimens than in the IL-12 mRNA-negative tumor specimens (P ס .015). In the IL-12 mRNA-positive tumors, IFN-␥ expression was higher in the tumor specimens than in the adjacent nontumor specimens (P ס .007). Conversely, in the IL-12 mRNA-negative tumors, IFN-␥ expression was lower in the tumor specimens than in the nontumor specimens (P ס .03). Many tumor-infiltrating mononuclear cells, predominantly T cells, were found in four of the 12 IL-12-mRNA-positive tumor specimens and in none of the 24 IL-12-mRNA-negative tumor specimens (P ס .008). Conclusions: These data suggest that possible immune responses against a tumor may occur at the mRNA level in approximately one-third of gastric carcinomas.