Involvement of gp130/interleukin-6 receptor transducing component in interleukin-11 receptor

The recently cloned interleukin (IL)-11 displays many biological properties in common with those reported for IL-6. In order to analyze the nature and the functionality of the IL-11 receptor we developed a proliferative assay using the human multifactor-dependent cell line TF1. We showed that a blocking monoclonal antibody GPX7 raised against the gp130/IL-6 receptor transducing subunit was also able to inhibit the IL-11-triggered TF1 line proliferation. In addition, involvement of gp130 in IL-11 signaling was demonstrated by an induction of the transducing protein phosphorylation in response to IL-11, as observed for IL-6. In contrast, the blocking monoclonal antibody B-R6, which recognized the gp80/IL-6 binding subunit failed to interfere with the IL-11 proliferative signal in the TF1 cell line. Similarly, we did not observe any competition between IL-6 and IL-11 for a putative common binding site on the cell surface. These results suggest that the IL-11 binding component is different from the gp80/IL-6 receptor. In conclusion, IL-11, along with IL-6, leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M and ciliary neurotrophic factor, belongs to the same family of cytokines, using gp130 as a transducing protein.

The biology of interleukin 11

Interleukin 11 (IL-11) is a multifunctional cytokine which may play a role in regulating the growth and development of cells in both the hematopoietic and lymphoid systems. IL-11 activity was originally detected in the conditioned medium of a primate bone marrow stromal cell line, and the human cDNA was cloned from a human fetal lung fibroblast cell line. The purified protein shows multifunctional activity, influencing lymphohematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation, megakaryocyte progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation, erythroid progenitor cell proliferation, B lymphocyte maturation, activation of hepatocyte acute phase protein synthesis, and adipogenesis. At the molecular level, IL-11 is unique, containing no asparagine-linked glycosylation sites and no cysteine residues. The IL-11 receptor belongs to a family of cytokine receptors which includes the receptors for IL-6, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), oncostatin M (OSM), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), which are all capable of interacting with the signal transducing receptor gp130 after ligand binding. IL-11 has demonstrated activity in preclinical models for the treatment of thrombocytopenia and, in some cases, neutropenia; studies are underway to confirm its usefulness in the clinic for treatment of myelosuppression associated with cancer chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.

Interleukin-11 and its receptor

Interleukin (IL)-11 is a bone marrow fibroblast derived cytokine with a wide spectrum of activities in different biological systems. It has been shown that IL-11 supports the growth of certain types of plasmacytoma and hybridoma cells, enhances antigen-specific antibody responses, synergizes with IL-3 in supporting megakaryocyte colony formation, acts synergistically with IL-3 in shortening the G0 period of early progenitors, induces the synthesis of acute phase proteins, and inhibits lipoprotein lipase activity and adipocyte differentiation. The human IL-11 gene, which is localized at 19q13.3-13.4, consists of five exons and four introns. Initial biochemical characterization has identified a 151 kDa protein as the potential IL-11 binding subunit of the receptor complex. Because of the overlapping biological activities between IL-6 and IL-11, we compared the signal transduction pathways mediated by IL-6 or IL-11 in cell lines responsive to both cytokines. Results from protein tyrosine phosphorylation and immediate response gene expression suggest that there are convergent and divergent points along the signal transduction pathways utilized by IL-6 or IL-11. The IL-6 signal transducer, gp130, appears to be involved in the IL-11 mediated signaling. Other cytokines such as leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M and ciliary neurotrophic factor have also been shown to utilize gp130 as a signal transducer. The significance of growth factor sharing common biological activities and signaling pathways will be discussed.

Characterization of interleukin-11 receptor and protein tyrosine phosphorylation induced by interleukin-11 in mouse 3T3-L1 cells

In this study, we have characterized the biochemical nature of interleukin (IL)-11 receptors (IL-11R) and determined the possible signal transduction pathways mediated by IL-11 in 3T3-L1 mouse preadipocytes. The results show that IL-11 strongly inhibited lipoprotein lipase activity and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells, and the suppression of lipoprotein lipase activity by IL-11 was controlled at the post-transcriptional level. The ability of IL-11 to inhibit lipoprotein lipase activity and adipogenesis therefore reflected the expression of functional IL-11R on the cell surface. Scatchard plot analysis according to specific binding data revealed the existence of a single class of high affinity IL-11R with a Kd of 3.49 x 10(-10) M and a receptor density of 5140 sites/cell on 3T3-L1 cells. Affinity cross-linking studies with 125I-IL-11 indicated that IL-11R consists of a single polypeptide chain of 151 kDa in size. Furthermore, we have studied the role of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in the IL-11R-linked signal transduction pathways. The results show that IL-11R ligation rapidly and transiently stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of 152-, 94-, 47-, and 44-kDa proteins. This effect is specific for IL-11 since neutralizing antibody to IL-11 abrogated IL-11-induced tyrosine phosphorylation, and other cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1 alpha did not change the tyrosine phosphorylation pattern in 3T3-L1 cells. These results suggest that IL-11R is closely linked to a functional protein-tyrosine kinase pathway, and tyrosine phosphorylation may be a key step in the initiation of the IL-11R-mediated transmembrane signaling.