Artikel
Identification of regeneration and tolerance factor (RTF) as a novel mediator of glioblastoma-associated immunosuppression
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Veröffentlicht: | 20. März 2006 |
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Gliederung
Text
RTF was originally identified in placenta where it is thought to be essential for fetal allograft survival. Soluble RTF up-regulates the production of interleukin (IL)-10 and interferes with IL-2 signalling in stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Since glioblastoma is a paradigmatic tumor for tumor-dependent immunosuppression, we assessed a possible role for RTF in glioblastoma-associated immunosuppression. We here report that RTF mRNA and protein are expressed in human glioma cells in vitro. In vivo, RTF expression is hardly detectable in normal human brain specimens, but strongly upregulated in glioblastoma tissue samples. Suppression of RTF expression in the human glioma cell line LNT-229 by RNA interference promotes the lysis of these cells by NK and T cells in vitro. Moreover, RTF-depleted glioma cells are less tumorigenic than control cells in nude mice in vivo. RTF is thus a novel aberrantly expressed molecule which may confer immune privilege to human malignant gliomas.