ABSTRACT
Tumor cells can acquire the mechanisms of immune response evasion. One of these mechanisms is synthesis and secretion in the microenvironment of immunosuppressive factors able to block immune cells maturation and function. We investigated plasma levels of TGFbeta1 and IL0 in 10 healthy volunteers and 114 patients with solid tumors (breast cancer--24, gastrointestinal tumors--27, renal cell carcinoma--15, lung cancer--9, ovarian cancer--13, cutaneous melanoma--18, primary multiple tumors--2, prostate cancer--6). TGFbeta and IL10 concentration in supernatants of 37 primary cultures (cutaneous melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer) and 10 cultures of melanoma during cultivation were also studied. VEGF was determined by immunocytochemistry staining in 15 melanoma culture specimens. The lowest level of TGFbeta1 was documented in rectal cancer patients, 30.05 +/- 12.30 ng/ml (p < 0.05), the highest in renal cell cancer and pancreatic cancer patients, 145.61 +/- 11.32 and 146.15 +/- 30.56 ng/ml (p < 0.001), respectively. Primary cultures of tumor cells can synthesize traceable amounts of TGFbeta1 and IL10. Cultures of cutaneous melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer cells did not change expression level of IL-10 after several passages. VEGF was expressed in 20% of cutaneous melanoma cultures. We suppose that tests for TGFbeta1, IL10 and VEGF in culture supernatants from tumor cell lines, on the surface of the cells purposed for cancer vaccines and in serum of patients to be vaccinated are potentially useful.
