As a member of IL-6/IL-12 cytokine family, IL-27 is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of the p28 and EBI3. Functioning as a linkage between innate and adaptive immunity, IL-27 is mainly produced by activated antigen-presenting cells and has a variety of responder cells including T cells, NK cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. IL-27 plays an antitumor role through promoting the production of cytotoxic T cells, regulating the differentiation of T cell subsets, enhancing the function of NK cells and inhibiting the angiogenesis. On the other hand, IL-27 may also have a positive effect on tumor progress and metastasis. IL-27 can be used as a reference marker for tumor diagnosis, due to its relation to the occurrence and development of tumors. This article reviews the research progress on the roles of IL-27 in tumor biological regulation.
白细胞介素（IL）27作为IL-6/IL-12细胞因子家族的成员，是由p28和EBI3两个亚基共同组成的异源二聚体。IL-27作为连接固有免疫和适应性免疫的重要细胞因子，主要由活化的抗原提呈细胞产生并作用于T细胞、自然杀伤细胞、巨噬细胞、树突细胞等免疫细胞。同时IL-27可以通过促进细胞毒性T细胞的产生、调节T细胞亚群的分化、增强自然杀伤细胞的作用以及抑制血管生成起到抗肿瘤免疫的作用，也有文献报道IL-27可以促进肿瘤的产生。由于IL-27的水平与一些肿瘤的发生发展有关，所以IL-27在有些研究中也被纳入了肿瘤临床诊断的参考指标。本文主要就IL-27对肿瘤生物学调控作用的研究进展做一综述。