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Updated: Feb 18, 2026
An IL-8 Transiently Transgenized Mouse Model for the In Vivo Long-term Monitoring of Inflammatory Responses
Published on: July 7, 2017
Revisiting the role of interleukin-8 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Denise Risnik1, Enrique Podaza1, María B Almejún1,2
1Laboratorio de Inmunología Oncológica, Instituto de Medicina Experimental (IMEX)-CONICET-Academia Nacional de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Insights
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells do not produce or respond to IL-8. Monocytes, not CLL cells, are the likely source of IL-8 in experiments, emphasizing crucial methodological details.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Hematology
- Oncology
Background:
- Malignant B cell proliferation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) relies on microenvironmental signals.
- Interleukin-8 (IL-8) has been implicated in supporting CLL B cell progression via autocrine mechanisms.
- Expression of IL-8 receptors (CXCR1, CXCR2) on CLL B cells remains unconfirmed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression and function of IL-8 receptors (CXCR1, CXCR2) on CLL B cells.
- To determine if CLL B cells produce or respond to IL-8.
- To identify the source of IL-8 in CLL cell cultures.
Main Methods:
- Flow cytometry for intracellular cytokine staining and receptor expression analysis.
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IL-8 quantification.
- In vitro co-culture of CLL B cells with monocytes/nurse-like cells.
Main Results:
- Circulating CLL B cells lack expression of CXCR1 and CXCR2.
- CLL B cells do not respond to exogenous IL-8 stimulation.
- Highly purified CLL B cells do not produce IL-8 spontaneously or upon B cell receptor activation.
- IL-8 production in CLL cell suspensions originates from a small population of contaminating monocytes.
Conclusions:
- CLL B cells are neither a source nor a target of IL-8.
- The observed effects attributed to IL-8 in previous CLL studies may stem from experimental artifacts due to monocyte contamination.
- Methodological rigor is essential for accurate in vitro studies in CLL research.
Abstract:
The proliferation and survival of malignant B cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) depend on signals from the microenvironment in lymphoid tissues. Among a plethora of soluble factors, IL-8 has been considered one of the most relevant to support CLL B cell progression in an autocrine fashion, even though the expression of IL-8 receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2, on leukemic B cells has not been reported. Here we show that circulating CLL B cells neither express CXCR1 or CXCR2 nor they respond to exogenous IL-8 when cultured in vitro alone or in the presence of monocytes/nurse-like cells. By intracellular staining and ELISA we show that highly purified CLL B cells do not produce IL-8 spontaneously or upon activation through the B cell receptor. By contrast, we found that a minor proportion (<0.5%) of contaminating monocytes in enriched suspensions of leukemic cells might be the actual source of IL-8 due to their strong capacity to release this cytokine. Altogether our results indicate that CLL B cells are not able to secrete or respond to IL-8 and highlight the importance of methodological details in in vitro experiments.
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