Cytokines in acute myeloid leukemia

Cytokines are an integral part of normal hematopoiesis and affect virtually all of its stages, causing and regulating the processes of cell proliferation, differentiation and a poptosis. According to recent studies, it has been shown that cytokines also mediate complex interactions between hematopoietic, immune systems and a growing tumor. On the one hand, cytokines take part in the activation of antitumor immunity aimed at eliminating malignant cells; on the other hand, they are synthesized by tumor cells and participate in the progression and metastasis of tumors. The article summarizes the data of modern literature on the characteristics of changes in the cytokine profile in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The role of cytokines in leukemogenesis is shown: in activation of signal transmission pathways, interaction with bone marrow microenvironment, implementation of antitumor immunity and maintenance of persistence of clonal blast cells. The connection of cytokines with the results of treatment and the prognosis of the disease, taking into account the presence in the patient's genotype of various allelic variants of cytokine genes encoding high or low production of these factors, is highlighted. The data presented in the review on the participation of cytokines in the formation, development and elimination of tumor cells in hemoblastoses are sometimes contradictory. However, these contradictions may be explained by the concept of tumor immunoediting, according to which the cells of the immune system can be transformed by a tumor in the process of carcinogenesis and start actively promoting its growth.