[Anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) therapy of IL-6-producing renal cell carcinoma]

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been demonstrated to be an autocrine growth factor of renal cell carcinoma in vitro and released IL-6 has been thought to elicit the acute phase response in vivo. We investigated the possibility of anti-IL-6 therapy of IL-6-producing renal cell carcinoma. There was a dose-dependent decrease in the number of colonies formed in vitro of NC65 renal cell carcinoma cell line in the presence of dexamethasone which is known to inhibit the induction of IL-6 messenger RNA. IL-6 receptor antisense oligonucleotide and anti-IL-6 receptor antibody also showed growth inhibition of NC65 cells. IL-6 antisense oligonucleotide and anti-IL-6 antibody did not alter the proliferation of NC65 cells. These findings suggest that inhibitors of IL-6 production or IL-6 function may be useful for some renal call carcinoma patients.