Figure 5.
IL-10 gene expression and CSF concentration correlate with disease course in a patient with recurrent CNS lymphoma. (A) A decline in CSF concentration of IL-10 correlates with initial cytological response followed by tumor progression in a representative patient with recurrent SCNSL who participated in a phase 1 trial of intraventricular rituximab plus methotrexate.30 (The result is representative of 6 consecutive trial patients analyzed.) (B) Cytological appearance of lymphoma cells in CSF at baseline and persistent disease at completion of intraventricular therapy (28 days). (C) Quantitative RT-PCR of RNA transcripts purified from B cells isolated from the CSF by flow cytometry demonstrated upregulated IL-10 expression in refractory CNS lymphoma after treatment with rituximab plus methotrexate. The increased relative expression of IL-10 transcripts by the meningeal lymphoma cells corresponded to increased concentration of IL-10 protein in CSF at day 28 (A). (D) In contrast, transcriptional expression of IL-10 receptor A decreased after therapy.