Evidence for the production and action of interleukin-10 in pituitary cells

Abstract

1. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) has a wide range of activities in the immune system such as modulation of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and antibody production. The neuropeptide hormone corticotropin (ACTH) has similar activities, suggesting that a bidirectional communication mechanism operates between the immune and the neuroendocrine system involving these two substances. 2. Murine pituitary tumor cells (AtT-20) were found to produce up to 3 ng/ml of IL-10. 3. Pituitary cell corticotropin production was enhanced by IL-10 treatment. 4. IL-10 induced the production of ACTH in mouse splenocytes. 5. Authenticity of pituitary-derived IL-10 was shown by the demonstration of identical neucleic acid sequences of reverse-transcribed, polymerase chain reaction amplified fragments of cDNA obtained from murine splenocytes, a murine pituitary tumor cell line, and freshly isolated murine pituitaries.