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Updated: Nov 30, 2025

Cytotoxic Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy in Osteosarcoma Cells In Vitro
Published on: March 18, 2014
Anti-tumour effect of tocilizumab for osteosarcoma cell lines
Tomohito Hagi1, Tomoki Nakamura1, Kouji Kita1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Japan.
Aims:
Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor (IL-6R) targeting antibody, enhances the anti-tumour effect of conventional chemotherapy in preclinical models of cancer. We investigated the anti-tumour effect of tocilizumab in osteosarcoma (OS) cell lines.
Methods:
We used the 143B, HOS, and Saos-2 human OS cell lines. We first analyzed the IL-6 gene expression and IL-6Rα protein expression in OS cells using reverse transcription real time quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis and western blotting, respectively. We also assessed the effect of tocilizumab on OS cells using proliferation and invasion assay.
Results:
The OS cell lines 143B, HOS, and Saos-2 expressed IL-6R. Recombinant human IL-6 treatment increased proliferation of 143B and HOS cells. Tocilizumab treatment decreased proliferation and invasion of 143B, HOS, and Saos-2.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we confirmed the production of IL-6 and the expression of IL-6R in OS cells and demonstrated that tocilizumab inhibits proliferation and invasion in OS cells. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2020;9(11):821-826.

