A Survey on the Role of Interleukin-10 in Breast Cancer: A Narrative

Interleukin (il)-10, a multifunctional immune-regulatory cytokine with both immunosuppressive and antiangiogenic functions, is produced by immune cells including macrophages, t lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. among other effects, il-10 promotes tumor cell proliferation and metastasis via immunosuppression. interleukin-10-mediated immunosuppression is aided by synthesis of tumor necrosis factor, il-1, il-12, and chemokines, and down regulation of the surface co-stimulatory molecules cd80 and cd86 on tumors. interleukin-10 also promotes il-6 expression and synthesis, which causes cell proliferation via b cell lymphoma-2 (bcl-2) upregulation and changes the proliferation/apoptosis equivalence toward neoplastic cell proliferation. moreover, il-10 inhibits tumorigenesis via down-regulation of vegf, il-1b, tnf-α, il-6, and mmp-9. interleukin-10 also inhibits nuclear factor-κb (nf-κb) translocation. interleukin-10 has been reported to have both tumor-promoting and -inhibiting properties. it seems that il-10 agonists and antagonists may have therapeutic effects via different mechanisms. moreover, il-10 gene polymorphisms may determine breast cancer susceptibility.