Chemokines and cancer

Evaluation of the association of chronic inflammation and cancer: Insights and implications

Among the most extensively researched processes in the development and treatment of cancer is inflammatory condition. Although acute inflammation is essential for the wound healing and reconstruction of tissues that have been damaged, chronic inflammation may contribute to the onset and growth of a number of diseases, including cancer. By disrupting the signaling processes of cells, which result in cancer induction, invasion, and development, a variety of inflammatory molecules are linked to the development of cancer. The microenvironment surrounding the tumor is greatly influenced by inflammatory cells and their subsequent secretions, which also contribute significantly to the tumor's growth, survivability, and potential migration. These inflammatory variables have been mentioned in several publications as prospective diagnostic tools for anticipating the onset of cancer. Targeting inflammation with various therapies can reduce the inflammatory response and potentially limit or block the proliferation of cancer cells. The scientific medical literature from the past three decades has been studied to determine how inflammatory chemicals and cell signaling pathways related to cancer invasion and metastasis are related. The current narrative review updates the relevant literature while highlighting the specifics of inflammatory signaling pathways in cancer and their possible therapeutic possibilities.

Chemokines in breast cancer: Regulating metabolism

Accumulating evidence indicates that chemokine-chemokine receptor interactions invoke biological responses beyond their originally described function of orchestrating leukocyte trafficking. In this review we will extend the findings that chemokines participate actively in the neoplastic process, and consider the contribution of CCL5 activation of CCR5 on breast cancer cells to upregulation of anabolic metabolic events that would support the energy demands of cell replication and proliferation.

Evaluation of interleukin 8 and interleukin 10 cytokines in liquid based cervical cytology samples

Introduction

inflammatory cytokines have been associated with various cancers, including cervical cancers. Interpreting cytokine expression in liquid based cervical samples is quite challenging. This study is aimed at evaluating the levels of interleukin 8 and 10 in liquid based cervical samples.

Methods

this is a descriptive analytical study carried out on eighty five (85) subjects aged between 23 and 68 years. Cervical samples were collected in liquid based medium and smears later examined after staining with Papanicolaou technique. These were categorized into low grade intra-epithelial lesion/malignancy, high grade intraepithelial lesion/malignancy according to the degree of dyskaryosis. Concentrations of interleukin 8 and interleukin 10 in the samples were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

the mean age, standard deviation (SD) of the study subjects were 40.6 (7.8) years. A total number of 79 females (92.9%) were negative for intra-epithelial lesion/malignancy (NILM), while 4 (4.71%) and 2 (2.35%) were positive for low grade intra-epithelial lesion/malignancy (LILM) and high grade intra-epithelial lesion (HILM) respectively. While mean levels of interleukin 8 increased with the degree of malignancy, (107.27 ± 11.88pg/ml) in LILM, (114.80 ± 2.12pg/ml) in HILM when compared with NILM (88.39 ± 18.06pg/ml), (f = 0.700, p = 0.018); the mean levels of interleukin 10 was comparable between these groups (p ≥ 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficient analysis showed a negative association between interleukin 8 and interleukin 10 (r = -1.999, p = 0.000) in LILM.

Conclusion

interleukin 8 cytokines in cervical cancer is associated with the degree of malignancy. Possible anti-inflammatory effect of interleukin 10 was not observed.

Development of a Fully Cross-Validated Bayesian Network Approach for Local Control Prediction in Lung Cancer

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a Bayesian network (BN) approach can explore hierarchical biophysical relationships that influence tumor response and predict tumor local control (LC) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients before and during radiotherapy from a large-scale dataset. Our BN building approach has two steps. First, relevant biophysical predictors influencing LC before and during the treatment are selected through an extended Markov blanket (eMB) method. From this eMB process, the most robust BN structure for LC prediction was found via a wrapper-based approach. Sixty-eight patients with complete feature information were used to identify a full BN model for LC prediction before and during the treatment. Fifty more recent patients with some missing information were reserved for independent testing of the developed pre- and during-therapy BNs. A nested cross-validation (N-CV) was developed to evaluate the performance of the two-step BN approach. An ensemble BN model is generated from the N-CV sampling process to assess its similarity with the corresponding full BN model, and thus evaluate the sensitivity of our BN approach. Our results show that the proposed BN development approach is a stable and robust approach to identify hierarchical relationships among biophysical features for LC prediction. Furthermore, BN predictions can be improved by incorporating during treatment information.

Mast cells modulate proliferation, migration and stemness of glioma cells through downregulation of GSK3β expression and inhibition of STAT3 activation

Glioblastoma (GBM) heterogeneity is the main obstacle to efficient treatment due to the existence of subpopulation of cells with increased tumorigenicity and network of tumor associated parenchymal cells in the tumor microenvironment. We previously demonstrated that mast cells (MCs) infiltrate mouse and human gliomas in response to variety of signals in a glioma grade-dependent manner. However, the role of MCs in glioma development and the mechanisms behind MCs-glioma cells interaction remain unidentified. In the present study, we show that MCs upon activation by glioma cells produce soluble factors including IL-6, which are documented to be involved in cancer-related activities. We observe 'tumor educated' MCs decrease glioma cell proliferation and migration, reduce self-renewal capacity and expression of stemness markers but in turn promote glioma cell differentiation. 'Tumor educated' MC derived mediators exert these effects via inactivation of STAT3 signaling pathway through GSK3β down-regulation. We identified 'tumor educated' MC derived IL-6 as one of the contributors among the complex mixture of MCs mediators, to be partially involved in the observed MC induced biological effect on glioma cells. Thus, MC mediated abolition of STAT3 signaling hampers glioma cell proliferation and migration by suppressing their stemness and inducing differentiation via down-regulation of GSK3β expression. Targeting newly identified inflammatory MC-STAT3 axis could contribute to patient tailored therapy and unveil potential future therapeutic opportunities for patients.

Role of cytokines in genesis, progression and prognosis of cervical cancer

Cytokine research is currently at the forefront in cancer research. Deciphering the functions of these multiple small molecules, discovered within the cell and in intercellular spaces, with their abundance and pleotrophism, was initially a great challenge. Advances in analytical chemistry and molecular biology have made it possible to unravel the pathophysiological functions of these polypeptides/proteins which are called interleukins, chemokines, monokines, lymphokines and growth factors. With more than 5 million women contracting cervical cancer every year this cancer is a major cause of mortality and morbidity the world over, particularly in the developing countries. In more than 95% of cases it is associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection which is persistent, particularly in those with a defective immune system. Although preventable, the mere magnitude of prevalence of HPV in the world population makes it a dominating current health hazard. The discovery of cytokine dysregulation in cervical cancer has spurted investigation into the possibility of using them as biomarkers in the early diagnosis of cases at high risk of developing cancer. Their critical role in carcinogenesis and progression of cervical cancer is now being revealed to a great extent. From diagnostics to prognosis, and now with a possible role in therapeutics and prevention of cervical cancer, the cytokines are being evaluated in all anticancer approaches. This review endeavours to capture the essence of the astonishing journey of cytokine research in cervical neoplasia.

Effect of high-dose intravenous vitamin C on inflammation in cancer patients

BACKGROUND

An inflammatory component is present in the microenvironment of most neoplastic tissues. Inflammation and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with poor prognosis and decreased survival in many types of cancer.Vitamin C has been suggested as having both a preventative and therapeutic role in a number of pathologies when administered at much higher-than-recommended dietary allowance levels.Since in vitro studies demonstrated inhibition of pro-inflammatory pathways by millimolar concentrations of vitamin C, we decided to analyze the effects of high dose IVC therapy in suppression of inflammation in cancer patients.

METHODS

45 patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, skin cancer and B-cell lymphoma were treated at the Riordan Clinic by high doses of vitamin C (7.5 g -50 g) after standard treatments by conventional methods.CRP and tumor markers were measured in serum or heparin-plasma as a routine analysis. In addition, serum samples were collected before and after the IVCs for the cytokine kit tests.

RESULTS

According to our data positive response to treatment, which was demonstrated by measurements of C- reactive protein, was found in 75% of patients and progression of the inflammation in 25% of patients. IVC treatments on all aggressive stage cancer patients showed the poor response of treatment.There was correlation between tumor markers (PSA, CEA, CA27.29 and CA15-3) and changes in the levels of C-reactive protein.Our test of the effect of IVC on pro-inflammatory cytokines demonstrated that inflammation cytokines IL-1α, IL-2, IL-8, TNF-α, chemokine eotaxin and CRP were reduced significantly after treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

The high dose intravenous ascorbic acid therapy affects C-reactive protein levels and pro-inflammation cytokines in cancer patients. In our study, we found that modulation of inflammation by IVC correlated with decreases in tumor marker levels.In summary, our data support the hypothesis that high dose intravenous ascorbate treatments may reduce inflammation in cancer patients. Our results suggest that further investigations into the use of IVC to reduce inflammation in diseases where inflammation is relevant are warranted.

Clostridial spores for cancer therapy: targeting solid tumour microenvironment

Solid tumour accounts for 90% of all cancers. The current treatment approach for most solid tumours is surgery, however it is limited to early stage tumours. Other treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are non-selective, thus causing damage to both healthy and cancerous tissue. Past research has focused on understanding tumour cells themselves, and conventional wisdom has aimed at targeting these cells directly. Recent research has shifted towards understanding the tumour microenvironment and it's differences from that of healthy cells/tissues in the body and then to exploit these differences for treatmeat of the tumour. One such approach is utilizing anaerobic bacteria. Several strains of bacteria have been shown to selectively colonize in solid tumours, making them valuable tools for selective tumour targeting and destruction. Amongst them, the anaerobic Clostridium has shown great potential in penetration and colonization of the hypoxic and necrotic areas of the tumour microenvironment, causing significant oncolysis as well as enabling the delivery of therapeutics directly to the tumour in situ. Various strategies utilizing Clostridium are currently being investigated, and represent a novel area of emerging cancer therapy. This review provides an update review of tumour microenvironment as well as summary of the progresses and current status of Clostridial spore-based cancer therapies.

CCL11-CCR3 interactions promote survival of anaplastic large cell lymphoma cells via ERK1/2 activation

CCR3 is a specific marker of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) cells. ALCL cells also express CCL11, a ligand for CCR3, leading to the hypothesis that CCL11 may play an autocrine role in ALCL progression. In this study, we investigated a role of CCL11 in cell survival and growth of human Ki-JK cells, established from an ALCL patient, and murine EL-4 lymphoma cells. Both Ki-JK and EL-4 cells expressed cell surface CCR3. CCL11 increased cell survival rates of Ki-JK cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas it promoted EL-4 cell proliferation. Furthermore, CCL11 induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 in both Ki-JK cells and EL-4 cells. Cell survival and tumor proliferation promoted by CCL11 was completely blocked by inhibition of ERK phosphorylation. CCL11 induced expression of antiapoptotic proteins, Bcl-xL and survivin, in Ki-JK cells. CCL11 also enhanced tumor growth of EL-4 and Ki-JK cells in vivo. Consistent with these results, tumor cells of cutaneous ALCL expressed CCR3 and increased levels of phosphorylated ERK1/2, Bcl-xL, and survivin in situ. Thus, our findings prompt a novel therapeutic approach to treat relapses of an aggressive form of lymphoma based on the discovery that a cell surface marker of disease functions as a critical autocrine growth receptor.

Interferon-beta is a key regulator of proinflammatory events in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

BACKGROUND

Interferon (IFN)-β is an effective therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, yet its mechanism of action remains ill-defined.

OBJECTIVES

Our objective was to characterize the role of IFN-β in immune regulation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

METHODS

IFN-β(+/+) and IFN-β(-/-) mice were immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide in the presence or absence of IFN-β, to induce EAE. Disease pathogenesis was monitored in the context of incidence, time of onset, clinical score, and immune cell activation in the brains, spleens and lymph nodes of affected mice.

RESULTS

Compared with IFN-β(+/+) mice, IFN-β(-/-) mice exhibited an earlier onset and a more rapid progression of EAE, increased numbers of CD11b(+) leukocytes infiltrating affected brains and an increased percentage of Th17 cells in the central nervous system and draining lymph nodes. IFN-β treatment delayed disease onset and reduced disease severity. Ex vivo experiments revealed that the lack of IFN-β results in enhanced generation of autoreactive T cells, a likely consequence of the absence of IFN-β-regulated events in both the CD4(+) T cells and antigen-presenting dendritic cells. Gene expression analysis of IFN-β-treated bone marrow macrophages (CD11b(+)) identified modulation of genes affecting T cell proliferation and Th17 differentiation.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that IFN-β acts to suppress the generation of autoimmune-inducing Th17 cells during the development of disease as well as modulating pro-inflammatory mediators.

Role of eotaxin-1 signaling in ovarian cancer

PURPOSE

Tumor cell growth and migration can be directly regulated by chemokines. In the present study, the association of CCL11 with ovarian cancer has been investigated.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND RESULTS

Circulating levels of CCL11 in sera of patients with ovarian cancer were significantly lower than those in healthy women or women with breast, lung, liver, pancreatic, or colon cancer. Cultured ovarian carcinoma cells absorbed soluble CCL11, indicating that absorption by tumor cells could be responsible for the observed reduction of serum level of CCL11 in ovarian cancer. Postoperative CCL11 levels in women with ovarian cancer negatively correlated with relapse-free survival. Ovarian tumors overexpressed three known cognate receptors of CCL11, CC chemokine receptors (CCR) 2, 3, and 5. Strong positive correlation was observed between expression of individual receptors and tumor grade. CCL11 potently stimulated proliferation and migration/invasion of ovarian carcinoma cell lines, and these effects were inhibited by neutralizing antibodies against CCR2, CCR3, and CCR5. The growth-stimulatory effects of CCL11 were likely associated with activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, MEK1, and STAT3 phosphoproteins and with increased production of multiple cytokines, growth factors, and angiogenic factors. Inhibition of CCL11 signaling by the combination of neutralizing antibodies against the ligand and its receptors significantly increased sensitivity to cisplatin in ovarian carcinoma cells.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that CCL11 signaling plays an important role in proliferation and invasion of ovarian carcinoma cells and CCL11 pathway could be targeted for therapy in ovarian cancer. Furthermore, CCL11 could be used as a biomarker and a prognostic factor of relapse-free survival in ovarian cancer.