Interleukins and lymphoid neoplasia

Abstract

Cytokines are low-molecular-weight proteins that play a crucial role in the regulation of the immune response. They are produced by and act upon several different cell types, but lymphocytes are the main cell population that produces cytokines, and they in turn depend on them for their differentiation, proliferation, survival, and biologic activity. Since cytokines play such an important role in normal lymphocyte biology, it is not surprising that cytokines play a role in the biology of their malignant counterparts, the lymphoid neoplasms. As with normal lymphocytes, lymphoma cells are capable of producing and responding to cytokines, which can act as growth factors for lymphoma cells, and also contribute to an altered immune response that promotes the development and maintenance of lymphomas.