Gene expression analysis in Interleukin-12-induced suppression of mouse mammary carcinoma.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) has potent antitumor activities via natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. However, the molecular mechanisms whereby IL-12 induces tumoricidal activities are poorly understood. Here, we report the genome-wide analysis of gene expression in a primary murine mammary carcinoma model that resembles human breast cancer, following the therapeutic application of recombinant IL-12, which restricted tumor growth and metastasis.

Transforming growth factor beta inhibits the antigen-presenting functions and antitumor activity of dendritic cell vaccines.

Dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccines have exhibited minimal effectiveness in treating established tumors, likely because of factors present in the tumor microenvironment. One such factor is transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), a cytokine that is produced by numerous tumor types and has been demonstrated to impair DC functions in vitro. We have evaluated the effect of TGF-beta on the immunostimulatory activities of DCs.