Expression of interleukin-8 receptors on tumor cells and vascular endothelial cells in human breast cancer tissue.

UNLABELLED Recently, we demonstrated the presence of Interleukin-8 (IL-8) in human breast cancer (HBC) tissue. We hypothesize that the IL-8 receptors are present and play a role in tumor cell and vascular endothelial cell (VEC) activation (e.g. proliferation and angiogenesis). MATERIALS AND METHODS Immunohistochemical analysis for IL-8 receptors (IL-8RA and IL-8RB) was performed on 43 malignant and 8 benign breast tissue samples. RESULTS Tumor cells expressed IL-8RA and IL-8RB in all of the malignant specimens. Only 50% of the benign ductal epithelial cell (DEC) samples expressed these receptors. The majority of small vessel endothelial cells (SVEC) expressed IL-8RA and IL-8RB, while large vessel endothelial cells (LVEC) showed primarily IL-8RB expression. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that tumor and VEC express the IL-8 receptors and likely play a role in regulating tumor and VEC activation which controls proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis in HBC.