Retinal pigment epithelial cells secrete interleukin-6 in response to interleukin-1
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a peptide whose properties include the ability to activate T-lymphocytes, stimulate the secretion of immunoglobulin, induce neuronal differentiation, and trigger the release of acute phase proteins. We have detected IL-6-like activity in conditioned medium from cultured human...
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Published in | Investigative ophthalmology & visual science Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 78 - 82 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Rockville, MD
ARVO
01.01.1992
Association for Research in Vision and Ophtalmology |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a peptide whose properties include the ability to activate T-lymphocytes, stimulate the secretion of immunoglobulin, induce neuronal differentiation, and trigger the release of acute phase proteins. We have detected IL-6-like activity in conditioned medium from cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with a bioassay based on the ability of IL-6 to induce the proliferation of murine B-9 plasmacytoma cells. Biologic activity increased approximately 90-fold when the cells were cultured in the presence of IL-1 alpha (30 units/ml). Western blot analysis confirmed that conditioned medium from IL-1 alpha-stimulated RPE cells contained peptides with molecular weights ranging between 19,000 and 30,000 and reactive with antibody to IL-6. Finally, Northern blot analysis indicated that cells cultured in the presence of interleukin-1 contained a 1.2 kilobase transcript that hybridized to a cDNA probe specific for IL-6 messenger RNA. IL-6 peptide on Western blots and mRNA on Northern blots were undetectable unless cells were cultured in the presence of IL-1 alpha. Although IL-6 is synthesized by a variety of cell types, this report is the first to detect its synthesis by an eye-specific cell type. Furthermore, these observations indicate that retinal pigment epithelial cells respond to IL-1, a cytokine that previously has been implicated in ocular inflammation. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0146-0404 1552-5783 |