The expression of cytokine transcripts has been investigated in a series of cultured human meningiomas using reverse transcriptase linked polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which allowed simultaneous analysis of a range of cytokines. The main histological subgroups of meningioma were investigated; these included transitional, fibroblastic, and syncytial as well as atypical rneningiomas. Meningiomas from each of the different histological subgroups were subjected to a standard tissue culture regime. Total RNA was extracted from representative cultures and reverse-transcribed to yield cDNA. PCR was performed using oligonucleotide primers designed to detect interleukin (IL)-la/P to IL-8, transforming growth factor (TGF)B,_,, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)u/P, and interferon (1FN)y. Transcripts for IL-3, IL-6, IL-8, and TGFP, were detected in all cultures. Transcripts for the three isomers of TGFP were expressed in the transitional and fibroblastic meningioma cells. TGFB, and TGFP, transcripts were expressed in the syncytial and TGFP, and TGFB, in the atypical meningioma cells. IL-lP transcripts were expressed in fibroblastic and atypical cultures and TNFP transcripts were expressed in syncytial and transitional cultures only. Transcripts for IL-la, IL-2, IL-4, ILd, IL-7, TNFa, or IFNy were not detected in any of the meningioma cultures. This investigation using cells cultured from a small number of tumours from each of the classic histological subtypes siggests that there is a distinct classification.