Abstract
Cytokines may play a role in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. A cytokine antibody array was previously applied to prostatic fluid obtained from patients with prostate cancer, and interleukin 18 binding protein (IL-18BP), a potent inhibitor of interleukin 18, was noted to be significantly upregulated in cases with large volume disease. We sought to further characterize the association of IL-18BP with prostate cancer and determine whether IL-18BP levels in patient serum and urine samples had clinical relevance. IL-18BP was expressed and secreted by the prostate cancer cell lines DU145 and PC3 but not by LNCaP and CWR22, upon interferon-c (IFN-c) stimulation. IFN-c-induced secretion of IL-18BP was enhanced by added TNF-a, IFN-a and IFN-b. The IL-18BP secreted from DU145 and PC3 functionally inhibited IL-18. Immunohistochemical analyses showed positive IL-18BP staining in prostate cancer cells as well as in macrophages in radical prostatectomy specimens. Significant differences in urinary IL-18BP levels (normalized by total protein) collected post-DRE were found between cases with and without cancer on biopsy (p= 0.02) and serum IL-18BP levels correlated with Gleason score (p= 0.03). Our finding of elevated IL-18BP secretion from prostate cancer cells suggests an attempt by cancer to escape immune surveillance. IL-18BP merits further study as a marker of aggressive prostate cancer and as a therapeutic target.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 424-432 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | International Journal of Cancer |
Volume | 129 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 15 2011 |
Keywords
- IL-18 binding protein
- Prostate cancer
- Urinary marker
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research