Human colorectal carcinoma cells that were treated in vitro with interleukin-6 (IL-6) expressed increased levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and normal histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I on their cell surface. The IL-6 mediated increase of CEA expression on the surface of a moderately differentiated colon carcinoma cell line (WiDr) was time- and dose-dependent. A 5-day treatment of the WiDr cells with 100 U IL-6/ml increased the percentage of cells that expressed CEA from 29 to > 80% and enhanced the level of HLA class I expression. The increase in CEA expression as a result of IL-6 treatment was also observed using SDS-PAGE/Western blot analyses, and subsequent Northern blot analyses revealed concomitant increases in CEA-related mRNA transcripts. A comparison of the increases in CEA expression after IL-6, interferon-beta, and interferon-gamma on a nanomolar basis revealed that IL-6 was more potent than either of the interferons. Of 11 different human colorectal tumor cell lines that were treated with IL-6, CEA and/or HLA class I expression were increased in five. Thus, IL-6 can act directly on human colon carcinoma cells and selectively increase the expression of CEA and HLA class I antigens, which may provide some insight into the mechanisms involved in the ability of IL-6 to suppress in vivo tumor growth.