Cytokine gene expression by human gliomas.

Two glioma tumor lines and specimens from five patients with gliomas were analyzed to determine genic expression of four growth factors found in human brain. Messenger RNA encoding for interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and basic fibroblast growth factor was found to be expressed in significant amounts in some of these tumors, while mRNA for interleukin-3 was found in small quantities in only the tumor lines. Multiple species of mRNA for basic fibroblast growth factor were found. Expression of growth factor genes may play a role in the growth of human gliomas.