Interleukin‐10 production by a B‐cell line derived from human post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease

Abstract

Interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) is a cytokine known to regulate growth and differentiation in activated human B cells. We studied IL‐10 production in a B‐cell line derived from Epstein‐Barr virus associated post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) demonstrated IL‐10 mRNA within the cells. Transcripts of the virally encoded homologue BCRF‐1 were not detected. ELISA assays demonstrated translation of IL‐10 message into the corresponding cytokine, and its subsequent secretion into the culture medium. The rate of ³H‐thymidine incorporation by the PTLD cells was not affected by immunologic neutralization of the secreted cytokine, or, by addition of exogenous recombinant IL‐10 to the culture medium. Thus, IL‐10 does not have an autocrine growth regulatory role in this PTLD line.