Production of multiple growth factors by a newly established human thyroid carcinoma cell line

A multiple growth factor-producing tumor cell line (NIM-1) was newly established from a patient with thyroid cancer and remarkable neutrophilia. NIM-1 cells also caused severe neutrophilia in nude mice bearing tumors. NIM-1-conditioned medium (NIM-1CM) contained activities that supported not only granulocyte, macrophage and eosinophil colony formation of human bone marrow cells but also the growth of colony-stimulating factor (CSF)-dependent cell lines, NFS60-KX and TF-1. Northern blot hybridization analysis revealed the constitutive expression of granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF), granulocyte/macrophage-CSF (GM-CSF) and interleukin(IL)-6 mRNAs in NIM-1 cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) using NIM-1CM also confirmed the production of IL-1 alpha and a small amount of IL-1 beta besides G-CSF, GM-CSF and IL-6 in NIM-1 cells. In addition, unexpected production of IL-11 in NIM-1 cells was detected by northern blot hybridization analysis and by bioassay using an IL-11-dependent cell line. Therefore, NIM-1 cell line is shown to produce multiple cytokines including potentially megakaryopoietic growth factors such as GM-CSF, IL-6 and IL-11.