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Human Melanoma Cells Transcribe Interleukin 1 Genes Identical to Those of Monocytes¹

The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology [U. S., H. K., R. P. R.] and The Pigmented Lesion Study Group, Cancer Center and the Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine [J. L. B., D. G.], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Two molecular species of the pleotropic cytokine interleukin 1 (IL-1) are produced as products of two distinct genes transcribed by cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage. We have shown previously that a significant proportion of human melanoma cell lines express IL-1 biological activity, but it has not been demonstrated that this activity is the same as authentic monocyte IL-1 and -ß. Here we report the cloning and sequencing of IL-1 complementary DNAs from a metastatic melanoma cell line and demonstrate that they encode bona fide IL-1 and IL-1ß. In addition, IL-1 complementary DNAs encoding a different amino acid at position 145 were revealed.

¹ This work was presented in part at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Association of Immunologists Joint Meeting, New Orleans, LA, June 1990 [FASEB J. 4(7): A1812]. This work was supported by NIH Grants CA 25874, CA 29200, CA 29797.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at The Wistar Institute, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Received 4/ 4/91. Accepted 5/ 1/91.