Interleukin-6 trans-signalling differentially regulates proliferation, migration, adhesion and maspin expression in human prostate cancer cells

Prevention of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by vaccination with the Tocilizumab mimotope

Mimotope, a kind of peptide vaccine, is developed to bind natural receptor and inhibit the downstream signaling. We have demonstrated that the vaccination of Tocilizumab mimotopes could alleviate the renal fibrosis by interfering with both IL-6 and ferroptosis signaling. However, the effect of the vaccination of Tocilizumab mimotopes on the fibroblast was not investigated in previous study. Thus, we sought to explore the changes in the fibroblast induced by the Tocilizumab mimotopes vaccination. Bleomycin instillation was performed to construct the pulmonary fibrosis model after the immunization of Tocilizumab mimotopes. Lung histological analysis showed that the Tocilizumab mimotopes could significantly reduce the maladaptive repairment and abnormal remodeling. Immunoblotting assay and fluorescence staining showed that Immunization with the Tocilizumab mimotopes reduces the accumulation of fibrosis-related proteins. High level of lipid peroxidation product was observed in the animal model, while the Tocilizumab mimotopes vaccination could reduce the generation of lipid peroxidation product. Mechanism analysis further showed that Nrf-2 signaling, but not GPX-4 and FSP-1 signaling, was upregulated, and reduced the lipid peroxidation. Our results revealed that in the BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis, high level of lipid peroxidation product was significantly accumulation in the lung tissues, which might lead to the occurrence of ferroptosis. The IL-6 pathway block therapy could inhibit lipid peroxidation product generation in the lung tissues by upregulating the Nrf-2 signaling, and further alleviate the pulmonary fibrosis.

Targeting interleukin-6 as a treatment approach for peritoneal carcinomatosis

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is a complex manifestation of abdominal cancers, with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Recent work identifying high concentrations of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its soluble receptor (sIL-6-Rα) in the peritoneal cavity of patients with PC has highlighted this pathway as an emerging potential therapeutic target. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the potential role of IL-6 in the development and progression of PC. We discuss mechansims by which the IL-6 pathway may contribute to peritoneal tumor dissemination, mesothelial adhesion and invasion, stromal invasion and proliferation, and immune response modulation. Finally, we review the prospects for targeting the IL-6 pathway in the treatment of PC, focusing on common sites of origin, including ovarian, gastric, pancreatic, colorectal and appendiceal cancer, and mesothelioma.

Exploring Potential Biomarkers in Oesophageal Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis

Oesophageal cancer (OC) is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. OC is highly aggressive, primarily due to its late stage of diagnosis and poor prognosis for patients' survival. Therefore, the establishment of new biomarkers that will be measured with non-invasive techniques at low cost is a critical issue in improving the diagnosis of OC. In this review, we summarize several original studies concerning the potential significance of selected chemokines and their receptors, including inflammatory proteins such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs), claudins (CLDNs), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs), adamalysines (ADAMs), as well as DNA- and RNA-based biomarkers, in OC. The presented results indicate the significant correlation between the CXCL12, CXCR4, CXCL8/CXCR2, M-CSF, MMP-2, MMP-9 ADAM17, ADAMTS-6, and CLDN7 levels and tumor stage, as well as the clinicopathological parameters of OC, such as the presence of lymph node and/or distant metastases. CXCL12, CXCL8/CXCR2, IL-6, TIMP-2, ADAM9, and ADAMTS-6 were prognostic factors for the overall survival of OC patients. Furthermore, IL-6, CXCR4, CXCL8, and MMP-9 indicate higher diagnostic utility based on the area under the ROC curve (AUC) than well-established OC tumor markers, whereas CLDN18.2 can be used in novel targeted therapies for OC patients.

The exercise IL-6 enigma in cancer

Interleukin (IL)-6 elicits both anticancer and procancer effects depending on the context, which we have termed the 'exercise IL-6 enigma'. IL-6 is released from skeletal muscles during exercise to regulate short-term energy availability. Exercise-induced IL-6 provokes biological effects that may protect against cancer by improving insulin sensitivity, stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, mobilising immune cells, and reducing DNA damage in early malignant cells. By contrast, IL-6 continuously produced by leukocytes in inflammatory sites drives tumorigenesis by promoting chronic inflammation and activating tumour-promoting signalling pathways. How can a molecule have such opposing effects on cancer? Here, we review the roles of IL-6 in chronic inflammation, tumorigenesis, and exercise-associated cancer prevention and define the factors that underpin the exercise IL-6 enigma.

Abnormal expression of CEBPB promotes the progression of renal cell carcinoma through regulating the generation of IL-6

Background

The CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (CEBPB), a transcription factor regulating immune and inflammatory responses, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies. However, its specific regulatory mechanism in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains poorly understood.

Methods

The expression of CEBPB was detected in RCC cells and tissues using qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. ELISA assay was used to detect the immune factors regulated by CEBPB in supernatants. Additionally, western blotting was employed to measure the phosphorylation level of STAT3 and the expression levels of its downstream target genes.

Results

CEBPB was found to be overexpressed in both RCC tissues and cell lines, and its higher expression was associated with a lower survival rate. In RCC cells, CEBPB enhances the expression of IL6, consequently promoting the phosphorylation of STAT3 and the expression of its downstream target genes. This mechanism ultimately facilitates tumor progression.

Conclusions

The dysregulated expression of CEBPB facilitates RCC progression through the IL6/STAT3 pathway. CEBPB is a potential diagnostic markers and a novel effective therapeutic target for RCC patients.

IL-6 upregulates the expression of IL-6R through the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway to promote progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

The progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) involves multifactor, multistep interactions. High expression of interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of tumours, but the regulatory mechanism of IL-6R expression and its function in HCC have not been fully defined. Western blot was used to evaluate the phosphorylation of key kinases in the JAK2/STAT3 pathway and the protein expression levels of related proliferation molecules, migration molecules and apoptotic molecules. The antiapoptosis, migration and proliferation of cells of each group were analysed with JC-1 to judge the cell apoptosis rate, the EdU method to determine the proliferation vitality of the cells, clone formation experiments and Transwell experiments. High expression of IL-6R in cell lines, lower protein levels of the apoptotic molecules c-Caspase7 and c-Caspase3 and higher protein levels of the proliferative molecules p-P70S6K and migration molecules MMP9 and MMP2 were consistent with stronger antiapoptosis, proliferation and migration. Interestingly, IL-6 upregulated the expression of IL-6R by activating the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway. Also, the expression of IL-6R protein was downregulated after lentivirus knockdown of STAT3. In nude mice bearing subcutaneous tumours, upregulation of IL-6R expression after activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway by IL-6 significantly increased tumour growth. Moreover, the expression of IL-6R protein was downregulated, and the terminal tumour volume was significantly downregulated in the lentiviral STAT3 knockdown group. IL-6 regulated the transcription of IL-6R through the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signalling pathway.

Transcriptomic analysis of esophageal cancer reveals hub genes and networks involved in cancer progression

Esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) has a 5-year survival rate of fewer than 20%. The study aimed to identify new predictive biomarkers for ESCA through transcriptomics meta-analysis to address the problems of ineffective cancer therapy, lack of efficient diagnostic tools, and costly screening and contribute to developing more efficient cancer screening and treatments by identifying new marker genes. Nine GEO datasets of three kinds of esophageal carcinoma were analyzed, and 20 differentially expressed genes were detected in carcinogenic pathways. Network analysis revealed four hub genes, namely RAR Related Orphan Receptor A (RORA), lysine acetyltransferase 2B (KAT2B), Cell Division Cycle 25B (CDC25B), and Epithelial Cell Transforming 2 (ECT2). Overexpression of RORA, KAT2B, and ECT2 was identified with a bad prognosis. These hub genes modulate immune cell infiltration. These hub genes modulate immune cell infiltration. Although this research needs lab confirmation, we found interesting biomarkers in ESCA that may aid in diagnosis and treatment.

Variation in IL6ST cytokine family function and the potential of IL6 trans-signalling in ERα positive breast cancer cells

High expression of the transmembrane receptor IL6ST (gp130) has been identified as a predictive biomarker of endocrine treatment response in ERα-positive breast cancers. To investigate its function further in this disease, this study evaluated the expression, function and signalling of IL6ST in ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines and investigated crosstalk between ERα and IL6ST. IL6ST was differentially expressed in ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines (low in MCF-7, high in ZR751 and T47D), while multiple soluble isoforms of IL6ST were identified. IL6ST is the common signal transducing receptor component for the IL6ST family of cytokines and the effects of seven IL6ST cytokines on these cell lines were studied. These cytokines caused differential growth and migration effects in these cell lines e.g. MCF-7 cells were growth-stimulated, while ZR751 cells were inhibited by IL6 and OSM.. Activation of the STAT and ERK pathways is associated with these responses. Evidence to support trans-signalling involved in cell growth and migration was obtained in both MCF-7 and ZR751 models. Interaction between cytokines and estrogen on ERα-positive cell lines growth were analysed. High expression of IL6ST (in ZR751) may lead to growth inhibition by interacting cytokines while lower expression (in MCF-7) appears associated with proliferation. High IL6ST expression is consistent with a more beneficial clinical outcome if cytokine action contributes to anti-estrogen action.

Crosstalk of Inflammatory Cytokines within the Breast Tumor Microenvironment

Several immune and immunocompetent cells, including dendritic cells, macrophages, adipocytes, natural killer cells, T cells, and B cells, are significantly correlated with the complex discipline of oncology. Cytotoxic innate and adaptive immune cells can block tumor proliferation, and others can prevent the immune system from rejecting malignant cells and provide a favorable environment for tumor progression. These cells communicate with the microenvironment through cytokines, a chemical messenger, in an endocrine, paracrine, or autocrine manner. These cytokines play an important role in health and disease, particularly in host immune responses to infection and inflammation. They include chemokines, interleukins (ILs), adipokines, interferons, colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which are produced by a wide range of cells, including immune cells, such as macrophages, B-cells, T-cells, and mast cells, as well as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, a variety of stromal cells, and some cancer cells. Cytokines play a crucial role in cancer and cancer-related inflammation, with direct and indirect effects on tumor antagonistic or tumor promoting functions. They have been extensively researched as immunostimulatory mediators to promote the generation, migration and recruitment of immune cells that contribute to an effective antitumor immune response or pro-tumor microenvironment. Thus, in many cancers such as breast cancer, cytokines including leptin, IL-1B, IL-6, IL-8, IL-23, IL-17, and IL-10 stimulate while others including IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ, inhibit cancer proliferation and/or invasion and enhance the body's anti-tumor defense. Indeed, the multifactorial functions of cytokines in tumorigenesis will advance our understanding of cytokine crosstalk pathways in the tumor microenvironment, such as JAK/STAT, PI3K, AKT, Rac, MAPK, NF-κB, JunB, cFos, and mTOR, which are involved in angiogenesis, cancer proliferation and metastasis. Accordingly, targeting and blocking tumor-promoting cytokines or activating and amplifying tumor-inhibiting cytokines are considered cancer-directed therapies. Here, we focus on the role of the inflammatory cytokine system in pro- and anti-tumor immune responses, discuss cytokine pathways involved in immune responses to cancer and some anti-cancer therapeutic applications.

Ten interleukins and risk of prostate cancer

Background

Interleukins (ILs) have been reported to be related to prostate cancer. The aims of this study were to estimate the levels for several key interleukins in prostate cancer and the causal effects between them.

Methods

We conducted a bi-directional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to assess the causal associations between ILs and prostate cancer. Genetic instruments and summary-level data for 10 ILs were obtained from three genome-wide association meta-analyses. Prostate cancer related data were obtained from the PRACTICAL (79,148 cases and 61,106 controls), UK Biobank (7,691 cases and 169,762 controls) and FinnGen consortium (10,414 cases and 124,994 controls), respectively.

Results

The odds ratio of prostate cancer was 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.89, 0.96; P=1.58×10^-05) and 1.12 (95% CI, 1.07, 1.17; P=6.61×10^-07) for one standard deviation increase in genetically predicted IL-1ra and IL-6 levels, respectively. Genetically predicted levels of IL-1ß, IL-2a, IL-6ra, IL-8, IL-16, IL-17, IL-18, and IL-27 were not associated with the risk of prostate cancer. Reverse MR analysis did not find the associations between genetic liability to prostate cancer and higher levels of IL-1ra (β, -0.005; 95% CI, -0.010, 0.001; P=0.111) and IL-6 (β, 0.002; 95% CI, -0.011, 0.014; P=0.755).

Conclusion

This MR study suggests that long-term IL-6 may increase the risk of prostate cancer and IL-1ra may reduce it.

Evaluation of the Tocilizumab therapy in human cancers: Latest evidence and clinical potential

Tocilizumab (Actemra®), as the first human interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) antagonist, has been used in treating moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were undertreatment with one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and did not improve significantly. Tocilizumab also has been administrated and confirmed in several inflammatory-based diseases. Recently, tocilizumab has been prescribed to treat patients with advanced coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and is used as one of the effective drugs in reducing the increased inflammation in these patients. On the other hand, cancer treatment has been considered by researchers one of the most important challenges to human health. Regarding inflammatory-associated malignancies, it has been shown that inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) may play a role in tumorigenesis, thus targeting these cytokines as evidence suggested can be useful in the treatment of these types of cancers. This review summarized the role of the IL-6/IL-6R axis in inflammation-based cancers and discussed the effectiveness and challenges of treating cancer with tocilizumab.

Exosome secretion and cellular response of DU145 and PC3 after exposure to alpha radiation

Exosomes are spherical membrane nanovesicles secreted from cells, and they play an important role in tumor immune response, metastasis, angiogenesis, and survival. Studies investigating exosomes isolated from cells exposed to photon radiation commonly used in conventional radiotherapy demonstrate the influence of this type of radiation on exosome characteristics and secretion. There is currently no research investigating the effects of densely ionizing particles such as protons and alpha radiation on exosomes. Thus we have evaluated the cellular response of human prostate cancer cells exposed to 0, 2, and 6 Gy of alpha radiation emitted from the Am-241 source. Irradiated PC3 and DU145 cell lines, characterized by differences in radiosensitivity, were studied using apoptosis, LDH, and IL-6 assays. Additionally, the corresponding concentration and size of isolated exosomes were measured using NTA. We found that exposure to ionizing radiation resulted in gross changes in viability and cell damage. There were increased amounts of apoptotic or necrotic cells as a function of radiation dose. We demonstrated that irradiated PC3 cells secrete higher quantities of exosomes compared to DU145 cells. Additionally, we also found no statistical difference in exosome size for control and irradiated cells.

IL-6: The Link Between Inflammation, Immunity and Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality in females. Over the past decades, intensive efforts have been made to uncover the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic factor which has a vital role in host defense immunity and acute stress. Moreover, a wide range of studies have identified the physiological and pathological roles of IL-6 in inflammation, immune and cancer. Recently, several IL-6 signaling pathway-targeted monoclonal antibodies have been developed for cancer and immune therapy. Combination of IL-6 inhibitory antibody with other pathways blockage drugs have demonstrated promising outcome in both preclinical and clinical trials. This review focuses on emerging studies on the strong linkages of IL-6/IL-6R mediated regulation of inflammation and immunity in cancer, especially in breast cancer.

The role of diosgenin in crohn’s disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic idiopathic inflammation that can grossly affect the entire gastrointestinal tract (GIT) from the mouth to the anus. Crohn’s disease is the most known type of IBD and has been the focus of attention due to its increase in prevalence worldwide. Although the etiology is yet to be elucidated, recent studies have pointed out Crohn’s disease to arise from a complex interaction between environmental influences, genetic predisposition, and altered gut microbiota, resulting in dysregulated adaptive and innate responses. The presenting hallmarks of Crohn’s disease may include weight loss, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, or chills. Treatment is usually done with many approved immunosuppressive drugs and surgery. However, a promising avenue from natural compounds is a safer therapy due to its safe natural active ingredients and the strong activity it shows in the treatment and management of diseases. Diosgenin, “a major biologically active natural steroidal sapogenin found in Chinese yam,” has been widely reported as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of various classes of disorders such as hyperlipidemia, inflammation, diabetes, cancer, infection, and immunoregulation. In this review, an analysis of literature data on diosgenin employed as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of Crohn’s disease is approached, to strengthen the scientific database and curtail the dreadful impact of Crohn’s disease.

Acute inflammatory response in the skin of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) caused by carrageenin

Although inflammation is a well-characterized process in mammals, few studies have dealt with the mechanisms involved in this process in fish. The present study evaluated the expression of inflammation-related genes in the skin of fish injected with carrageenin, which has previously been used in inflammatory models in mammals. In our case, fish were injected subcutaneously with PBS (as control) or carrageenin (1%), and skin samples from the injection site were collected 1.5, 3 and 6 h post-injection. The gene expression of inflammatory markers (csfr1, mhc-ii and phox40), several pro-inflammatory cytokines (il1b, tnfa, il6, il8 and il18) and other molecules related (such as myd88 and c-rel) were up-regulated at 1.5 and 3 h in fish injected with carrageenin compared with control levels. By contrast, the gene expression of anti-inflammatory molecules (nlrx1, nlrc5 isoform 1, ctsd and ctss) was down-regulated in fish injected with carrageenin and sampled 3 h post injection, again compared to the gene expression in control fish. According to our results, carrageenin can be considered not only a good stimulator to study skin inflammation in gilthead seabream but also this method might be use to study the modulation of fish inflammatory process caused by internal or external factors.

The Relationship between Inflammation Markers (CRP, IL-6, sCD40L) and Colorectal Cancer Stage, Grade, Size and Location

The aim of the study was the evaluation whether in primary colorectal cancer (CRC) patients (n = 55): age, sex, TNM classification results, WHO grade, tumor location (proximal colon, distal colon, rectum), tumor size, platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), mean platelet component (MCP), levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen (CA 19-9), as well as soluble lectin adhesion molecules (L-, E-, and P-selectins) may influence circulating inflammatory biomarkers: IL-6, CRP, and sCD40L. We found that CRP concentration evaluation in routine clinical practice may have an advantage as a prognostic biomarker in CRC patients, as this protein the most comprehensively reflects clinicopathological features of the tumor. Univariate linear regression analysis revealed that in CRC patients: (1) with an increase in PLT by 10 × 10³/μL, the mean concentration of CRP increases by 3.4%; (2) with an increase in CA 19-9 of 1 U/mL, the mean concentration of CRP increases by 0.7%; (3) with the WHO 2 grade, the mean CRP concentration increases 3.631 times relative to the WHO 1 grade group; (4) with the WHO 3 grade, the mean CRP concentration increases by 4.916 times relative to the WHO 1 grade group; (5) with metastases (T1-4N+M+) the mean CRP concentration increases 4.183 times compared to non-metastatic patients (T1-4N0M0); (6) with a tumor located in the proximal colon, the mean concentration of CRP increases 2.175 times compared to a tumor located in the distal colon; (7) in patients with tumor size > 3 cm, the CRP concentration is about 2 times higher than in patients with tumor size ≤ 3 cm. In the multivariate linear regression model, the variables that influence the mean CRP value in CRC patients included: WHO grade and tumor localization. R² for the created model equals 0.50, which indicates that this model explains 50% of the variance in the dependent variable. In CRC subjects: (1) with the WHO 2 grade, the mean CRP concentration rises 3.924 times relative to the WHO 1 grade; (2) with the WHO 3 grade, the mean CRP concentration increases 4.721 times in relation to the WHO 1 grade; (3) with a tumor located in the rectum, the mean CRP concentration rises 2.139 times compared to a tumor located in the distal colon; (4) with a tumor located in the proximal colon, the mean concentration of CRP increases 1.998 times compared to the tumor located in the distal colon; if other model parameters are fixed.

Codelivery of BV6 and anti-IL6 siRNA by hyaluronate-conjugated PEG-chitosan-lactate nanoparticles inhibits tumor progression

AIMS

Increased expression of inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) genes has been associated with progressive cancer and chemoresistance. Accordingly, blockade of IAPs by BV6 has resulted in ameliorative outcomes. Interleukin (IL)-6 is another important mediator involved in the growth and survival of tumor cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that simultaneous inhibition of IAPs and IL-6 could be a new promising anti-tumor treatment strategy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, we generated and characterized hyaluronate-PEG-Chitosan-Lactate (H-PCL) nanoparticles (NPs) to simultaneously deliver IL6-specific siRNA and BV6 to 4T1 (breast cancer) and CT26 (colon cancer) cells, and investigate the anti-tumor properties of this combination therapy both in vitro and in vivo.

KEY FINDINGS

H-PCL NPs exhibited good physicochemical properties leading to efficient transfection of cancer cells and suppression of target molecules. Moreover, combination therapy synergistically increased apoptosis, as well as decreased cell migration, proliferation, colony formation, and angiogenesis in both 4T1 and CT26 cell lines and suppressed cancer progression in tumor-bearing mice that was associated with enhanced survival time.

SIGNIFICANCE

These findings imply the effectiveness of cancer combination therapy by using H-PCL NPs loaded with anti-IL-6 siRNA and BV6.

Inflammation as a Driver of Prostate Cancer Metastasis and Therapeutic Resistance

Simple Summary

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy in men, with a high mortality rate when disease progresses to metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Evidence implicates inflammation as a driver of prostate cancer risk and has a significant impact on processes in the tumor microenvironment that facilitate progression to advanced therapeutically resistant disease. In this review, we discuss the sources of inflammation in the prostate, the functional contribution of the critical inflammatory effectors to prostate cancer initiation and metastatic progression, and the therapeutic challenges that they impose on treatment of advanced disease and overcoming therapeutic resistance. Full understanding of the role of inflammation in prostate cancer progression to advanced metastatic disease and tumor relapse will aid in the development of personalized predictive biomarkers and therapy to reduce the burden and mortality in prostate cancer patients.

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy among men, and progression to metastasis and the emergence of therapeutically resistant disease confers a high mortality rate. Growing evidence implicates inflammation as a driver of prostate cancer development and progression, resulting in increased cancer risk for prostate cancer. Population-based studies revealed that the use of antinflammatory drugs led to a 23% risk reduction prostate cancer occurrence, a negative association that was stronger in men who specifically used COX-2 inhibitors. Furthermore, patients that were taking aspirin had a 21% reduction in prostate cancer risk, and further, long-term users of daily low dose aspirin had a 29% prostate cancer risk reduction as compared to the controls. Environmental exposure to bacterial and viral infections, exposure to mutagenic agents, and genetic variations predispose the prostate gland to inflammation, with a coordinated elevated expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TGF-β). It is the dynamics within the tumor microenvironment that empower these cytokines to promote survival and growth of the primary tumor and facilitate disease progression by navigating the immunoregulatory network, phenotypic epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, anoikis resistance, and metastasis. In this review, we discuss the sources of inflammation in the prostate, the functional contribution of the critical inflammatory effectors to prostate cancer initiation and metastatic progression, and the therapeutic challenges that they impose on treatment of advanced disease and overcoming therapeutic resistance. Growing mechanistic evidence supports the significance of inflammation in localized prostate cancer, and the systemic impact of the process within the tumor microenvironment on disease progression to advanced therapeutically-resistant prostate cancer. Rigorous exploitation of the role of inflammation in prostate cancer progression to metastasis and therapeutic resistance will empower the development of precise biomarker signatures and effective targeted therapeutics to reduce the clinical burden and lethal disease in the future.

Dysregulation of IL6/IL6R-STAT3-SOCS3 signaling pathway in IBD-associated colorectal dysplastic lesions as compared to sporadic colorectal adenomas in non-IBD patients

BACKGROUND

IL6-IL6R-STAT3-SOCS3 signaling pathway is known to play important roles in regulating intestinal epithelial homeostasis, in pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and in tumorigenesis of colorectal neoplasia. We studied the expressions of these factors in IBD-associated dysplasia and compared to sporadic colorectal adenomas in non-IBD individuals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of IL6, IL6R, STAT3, and SOCS3 within dysplastic as well as background non-dysplastic epithelial cells was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 26 sporadic colorectal adenomas in non-IBD patients, 32 adenoma-like and 30 non-adenoma-like dysplastic lesions in IBD (41 ulcerative colitis, 21 Crohn's disease) patients. The level of expression of each factor was arbitrarily scored as 0, 1, 2, and 3.

RESULTS

In both IBD and non-IBD lesions, neoplastic epithelium showed a higher expression of all factors, except the IL6R, as compared to non-neoplastic epithelium. For non-neoplastic epithelium between IBD and non-IBD settings, the colitic epithelium showed a similar IL6, lower IL6R, higher STAT3, and higher SOCS3 expression. As compared to non-IBD adenomas, IBD-associated dysplasia showed a significantly lower IL6, lower IL6R, higher STAT3, and lower SOCS3 expression. Most notably, a parallel-elevation pattern of STAT3/SOCS3 expressions was seen in non-IBD adenomas but an inverse-expression pattern of STAT3/SOCS3 seen in IBD dysplastic lesions. No significant differences existed between adenoma-like and non-adenoma-like lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

IL6/IL6R-STAT3-SOCS3 signaling pathway does not seem to be preferentially associated with IBD-associated dysplasia. However, the STAT3-SOCS3 interaction appears dysregulated in IBD, characterized by a loss of STAT3/SOCS3 balance,i.e., loss of the normal negative regulation of SOCS3.

Cytokines and Chemokines as Mediators of Prostate Cancer Metastasis

The consequences of prostate cancer metastasis remain severe, with huge impact on the mortality and overall quality of life of affected patients. Despite the convoluted interplay and cross talk between various cell types and secreted factors in the metastatic process, cytokine and chemokines, along with their receptors and signaling axis, constitute important factors that help drive the sequence of events that lead to metastasis of prostate cancer. These proteins are involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, epithelial-mesenchymal-transition, angiogenesis, tumor invasion, premetastatic niche creation, extravasation, re-establishment of tumor cells in secondary organs as well as the remodeling of the metastatic tumor microenvironment. This review presents an overview of the main cytokines/chemokines, including IL-6, CXCL12, TGFβ, CXCL8, VEGF, RANKL, CCL2, CX3CL1, IL-1, IL-7, CXCL1, and CXCL16, that exert modulatory roles in prostate cancer metastasis. We also provide extensive description of their aberrant expression patterns in both advanced disease states and metastatic sites, as well as their functional involvement in the various stages of the prostate cancer metastatic process.

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells in solid tumors: a war against the tumor microenvironment

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell is a novel approach, which utilizes anti-tumor immunity for cancer treatment. As compared to the traditional cell-mediated immunity, CAR-T possesses the improved specificity of tumor antigens and independent cytotoxicity from major histocompatibility complex molecules through a monoclonal antibody in addition to the T-cell receptor. CAR-T cell has proven its effectiveness, primarily in hematological malignancies, specifically where the CD 19 CAR-T cells were used to treat B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell lymphomas. Nevertheless, there is little progress in the treatment of solid tumors despite the fact that many CAR agents have been created to target tumor antigens such as CEA, EGFR/EGFRvIII, GD2, HER2, MSLN, MUC1, and other antigens. The main obstruction against the progress of research in solid tumors is the tumor microenvironment, in which several elements, such as poor locating ability, immunosuppressive cells, cytokines, chemokines, immunosuppressive checkpoints, inhibitory metabolic factors, tumor antigen loss, and antigen heterogeneity, could affect the potency of CAR-T cells. To overcome these hurdles, researchers have reconstructed the CAR-T cells in various ways. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current research in this field, analyze the mechanisms of the major barriers mentioned above, outline the main solutions, and discuss the outlook of this novel immunotherapeutic modality.

The beneficial role of SIRT1 activator on chemo- and radiosensitization of breast cancer cells in response to IL-6

Tumor environmental cytokines, such as IL-6, has a major role in the outcome of radiation and chemotherapy. In this study, we hypothesized that IL-6 mediates its effects via SIRT1 as a protein deacetylase and activator of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase pathways. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of the novel dual inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin, NVP-BEZ235, and SIRT1 inhibitor and activator plus radiotherapy in breast cancer cells treated with IL-6. Here, IL-6 untreated/pretreated human breast cancer cells were cultured with single or combination of NVP-BEZ235 and/or SIRT1 activator (SRT1720)/inhibitor (EX-527) under radiotherapy condition. After all treatments, the MTT assay and flow cytometry assay were used to explore cell viability and the ability of our treatments in altering cancer stem cells (CSCs) population or cellular death (apoptosis + necrosis) induction. Simultaneous exposure to NVP-BEZ235 and SRT1720 sensitized breast cancer cells to radiotherapy but elevated CSCs. Treatment with IL-6 for 2 weeks significantly decreased CSCs population. Activation of SIRT1 via SRT1720 in combination with NVP-BEZ235 significantly decreased breast cancer cells viability in IL-6 pretreatment cultures. Inhibition of SIRT1 via EX-527 diminished the beneficial effects of IL-6 pretreatment. The combination of NVP-BEZ235 and SRT1720 as a SIRT1 activation could effectively decrease breast cancer cells population and augments the efficacy of radiotherapy.

Anti-Cancer Effects of Synergistic Drug-Bacterium Combinations on Induced Breast Cancer in BALB/c Mice

Cancer development and progression are extremely complex due to the alteration of various genes and pathways. In most cases, multiple agents are required to control cancer progression. The purpose of this study is to investigate, using a mouse model, the synergistic interactions of anti-cancer agents, 1'-S-1'-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), and cisplatin (CDDP) in double and triple combinations to treat chemo-sensitize and immune-sensitize breast cancer. Changes in tumor volume and body weight were monitored. Organs were harvested and stained using hematoxylin-eosin for histopathological assessment. Milliplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine cytokine levels, while immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted on tumor biopsies to verify systemic drug effects. In vivo mouse models showed tumor regression with maintenance of regular body weight for all the different treatment regimens. IHC results provided conclusive evidence indicating that combination regimens were able to down-regulate nuclear factor kappa-B activation and reduce the expression of its regulated pro-inflammatory proteins. Reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-ɣ) levels were observed when using the triple combination, which indicated that the synergistic drug combination was able to significantly control cancer progression. In conclusion, ACA, MIP, and CDDP together serve as promising candidates for further development and for subsequent clinical trials against estrogen-sensitive breast cancer.

Novel Insight into Differential Gene Expression and Clinical Significance of Dopamine Receptors, COMT, and IL6 in BPH and Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) are the most prevalent diseases in male population, implicated with fundamental differences between benign and malignant growth of prostate cells. An imbalance through a network of nervous, endocrine, and immune systems initiate a signal of altered growth from the brain to the prostate gland, leading to adverse effects such as inflammation.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the gene expression of dopamine receptor family, COMT, and IL6 to identify novel correlations in BPH and PCa in both blood and tumor of the patients.

METHODS

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from BPH (n= 30) and PCa (n= 30) patients, and prostate tumor tissues (n= 14) along with pathologically normal adjacent tissues (n= 14) were isolated, mRNA was extracted, and cDNA was synthesized, respectively. Quantitative real- time PCR was applied for DRD1- DRD5, COMT, and IL6 genes in all samples.

RESULTS

We found, for the first time, that the expression of COMT and IL6 genes were inversely correlated with the expression of DRD1 and DRD2 genes through the extent of differentiation of PCa from BPH condition. In addition, the PSA levels were correlated with the expression of DRD1 in BPH cases and DRD1, DRD4, DRD5, and IL6 in PCa cases.

CONCLUSION

Results implicate a potential cross- talk between the signaling pathways derived by IL6 cytokine and dopamine receptors in PCa. Thus, it seems promising to reassemble the consequent signaling pathways by adequate agonists and antagonists to help increase therapeutic efficacy.

A role for paracrine interleukin-6 signaling in the tumor microenvironment in prostate tumor growth

BACKGROUND

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a mediator of inflammation that can facilitate prostate cancer progression. We previously demonstrated that IL-6 is present in the prostate tumor microenvironment and is restricted almost exclusively to the stromal compartment. The present study examined the influence of paracrine IL-6 signaling on prostate tumor growth using allograft models of mouse prostate cancer (TRAMP-C2), colon cancer (MC38), and melanoma (B16) cell lines in wildtype (WT) and IL-6 knockout (IL-6^-/- ) mice.

METHODS

Cells were implanted into WT or IL-6^-/- mice and tumor sizes were measured at a 3 to 4 day interval. Serum, tumors, and other organs were collected for IL-6 analysis by ELISA and RNA in situ hybridization (RISH).

RESULTS

There was a significant reduction in TRAMP-C2 and B16 tumor size grown in IL-6^-/- mice versus WT mice (P = 0.0006 and P = 0.02, respectively). This trend was not observed for the MC38 cell line. RISH analysis of TRAMP-C2 tumors grown in WT mice showed that cells present in the tumor microenvironment were the primary source of IL-6 mRNA, not the TRAMP-C2 cells. Serum IL-6 ELISA analyses showed an increase in the circulating levels of IL-6 in WT mice bearing TRAMP-C2 tumors. Similar phospho-STAT3 expression and tumor vascularization were observed in TRAMP-C2 tumors grown in WT and IL-6^-/- mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results are consistent with previous studies in prostate cancer patients demonstrating that paracrine IL-6 production in the tumor microenvironment may influence tumor growth. Additionally, these data provide evidence that elevated systemic IL-6 levels may be involved in tumor growth regulation in prostate cancer, and are not simply caused by or indicative of tumor burden.

Synthesis and evaluation of the antiproliferative efficacy of BRM270 phytocomposite nanoparticles against human hepatoma cancer cell lines

BRM270 is the most leading phytochemical extract that possesses potent anticancer properties. A major challenge associated with this drug is its low bioavailability and thus requires high dosages for cancer treatment. Here, we report the novel nano-synthesis of phyto-composite, BRM270 for the first time by mechanical milling method with specific modifications for enhanced cytotoxicity against HepG2 human hepatoma cancer cells. Unlike free BRM270 and other phytomedicines, BRM270 nanoparticles (BRM270 NPs) are well-dispersed and small sized (23 to 70 nm) which is believed to greatly enhanced cellular uptake. Furthermore, the acidic tumor microenvironment attracts BRM270 NPs enhancing targeted therapy while leaving normal cells less affected. The comparative cytotoxicity analysis using MTT assay among the three treatment groups, such as free BRM270, BRM270 NPs, and doxorubicin demonstrated that BRM270 NPs induced greater cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells with an effective drug concentration of 12 μg/ml. From FACS analysis, we observed an apoptotic cell death of 44.4% at BRM270 NPs treated cells while only 12.5% found in the free BRM270 treated cells. Further, the comparative relative expression profiling of the candidate genes were showed significant (p < 0.05) down-regulation of IL6, BCL2, p53, and MMP9 in the BRM270 NPs treated cells, compared to the free BRM270 and doxorubicin. Indeed, the genes, CASPASE 9 and BAX have shown significant (p < 0.05) upregulation in cells treated with BRM270 NPs as compared to counter treatment groups. The investigation of the signal pathways and protein-protein network associations were also carried out to elucidate the functional insights underlying anti-cancer potential of BRM270 NPs in HepG2 cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that these uniquely engineered BRM270 NPs effectively enter into the cancer cells due to its acidic microenvironment thereby inducing apoptosis and regulate the cell-proliferation in-vitro at extremely low dosages.

Monoclonal Antibody against CXCL1 (HL2401) as a Novel Agent in Suppressing IL6 Expression and Tumoral Growth

Rationale: The expression of the chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), an inflammatory protein, has been reported to be up-regulated in many human cancers. The mechanisms through which aberrant cellular CXCL1 levels promote specific steps in tumor growth and progression are unknown. Methods: We described the anticancer effects and mechanism of action of HL2401, a monoclonal antibody directed at CXCL1 with in vitro and in vivo data on bladder and prostate cancers. Results: HL2401 inhibited proliferation and invasion of bladder and prostate cells along with disrupting endothelial sprouting in vitro. Furthermore, novel mechanistic investigations revealed that CXCL1 expression stimulated interleukin 6 (IL6) expression and repressed tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 4 (TIMP4). Systemic administration of HL2401 in mice bearing bladder and prostate xenograft tumors retarded tumor growth through the inhibition of cellular proliferation and angiogenesis along with an induction of apoptosis. Our findings reveal a previously undocumented relationship between CXCL1, IL6 and TIMP4 in solid tumor biology. Principal conclusions: Taken together, our results argue that CXCL1 plays an important role in sustaining the growth of bladder and prostate tumors via up-regulation of IL6 and down-regulation of TIMP4. Targeting these critical interactions with a CXCL1 monoclonal antibody offers a novel strategy to therapeutically manage bladder and prostate cancers.

The role of the interleukin (IL)-6/IL-6 receptor axis in cancer

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that activates a classic signalling pathway upon binding to its membrane-bound receptor (IL-6R). Alternatively, IL-6 may 'trans-signal' in a manner that is facilitated by its binding to a soluble derivative of the IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Resultant signal transduction is, respectively, driven by the association of IL-6/IL-6R or IL-6/sIL-6R complex with the membrane-associated signal transducer, gp130 (Glycoprotein 130). Distinct JAK (Janus tyrosine kinase)/STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) and other signalling pathways are activated as a consequence. Of translational relevance, overexpression of IL-6 has been documented in several neoplastic disorders, including but not limited to colorectal, ovarian and breast cancer and several haematological malignancies. This review attempts to summarise our current understanding of the role of IL-6 in cancer development. In short, these studies have shown important roles for IL-6 signalling in tumour cell growth and survival, angiogenesis, immunomodulation of the tumour microenvironment, stromal cell activation, and ultimate disease progression. Given this background, we also consider the potential for therapeutic targeting of this system in cancer.

Drosophila Jak/STAT Signaling: Regulation and Relevance in Human Cancer and Metastasis

Over the past three-decades, Janus kinase (Jak) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling has emerged as a paradigm to understand the involvement of signal transduction in development and disease pathology. At the molecular level, cytokines and interleukins steer Jak/STAT signaling to transcriptional regulation of target genes, which are involved in cell differentiation, migration, and proliferation. Jak/STAT signaling is involved in various types of blood cell disorders and cancers in humans, and its activation is associated with carcinomas that are more invasive or likely to become metastatic. Despite immense information regarding Jak/STAT regulation, the signaling network has numerous missing links, which is slowing the progress towards developing drug therapies. In mammals, many components act in this cascade, with substantial cross-talk with other signaling pathways. In Drosophila, there are fewer pathway components, which has enabled significant discoveries regarding well-conserved regulatory mechanisms. Work across species illustrates the relevance of these regulators in humans. In this review, we showcase fundamental Jak/STAT regulation mechanisms in blood cells, stem cells, and cell motility. We examine the functional relevance of key conserved regulators from Drosophila to human cancer stem cells and metastasis. Finally, we spotlight less characterized regulators of Drosophila Jak/STAT signaling, which stand as promising candidates to be investigated in cancer biology. These comparisons illustrate the value of using Drosophila as a model for uncovering the roles of Jak/STAT signaling and the molecular means by which the pathway is controlled.

Anticancer effects of alloxanthoxyletin and fatty acids esters - In vitro study on cancer HTB-140 and A549 cells

Alloxanthoxyletin, a natural occurring pyranocoumarin isolated from a number of plant sources, such as family of Rutaceae, and its synthetic derivatives show cytotoxic and antitumor activities. In the present study new eleven esters of alloxanthoxyletin and fatty acids were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer toxicity. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR), Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹³C NMR) and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) analyses. For all compounds 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine the cytotoxic effect on human melanoma cells (HTB-140), human epithelial lung carcinoma cells (A549) and human keratinocyte line (HaCaT). For the most active compounds (8-11) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay to assess the level of cell damage as well as migration inhibition assay were performed. To explain the basic mechanism of cell death induction, the effect of derivatives 8-11 on early and late apoptosis in Annexin V-FITC/7-AAD flow cytometry analysis was investigated. The results indicate that human melanoma cells (HTB-140) and human epithelial lung carcinoma cells (A549) were more sensitive to new alloxanthoxyletin derivatives exposure compared to human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Both, the cytotoxicity and the migration tests showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of cell growth, although with a different degree of efficacy. Tested compounds induced apoptosis in cancer cells, however, derivatives 8, 9, 10 and 11 were found to be much more potent inducers of early apoptosis in HTB-140 cells than in A549 and HaCaT cells. To establish the potent mechanism of action of alloxanthoxyletin derivatives 8, 9, 10 and 11 on HaCaT, A549 and HTB-140 cells, the level of IL-6 was measured. Our results indicate, that tested compounds significantly decrease the release of IL-6 for all cancer cell lines.

[Inflammatory and immune biomarkers of radiation response]

In radiotherapy, the treatment is adapted to each individual to protect healthy tissues but delivers most of time a standard dose according to the tumor histology and site. The only biomarkers studied to individualize the treatment are the HPV status with radiation dose de-escalation strategies, and tumor hypoxia with dose escalation to hypoxic subvolumes using FMISO- or FAZA-PET imaging. In the last decades, evidence has grown about the contribution of the immune system to radiation tumor response. Many preclinical studies have identified some of the mechanisms involved. In this context, we have realised a systematic review to highlight potential inflammatory and immune biomarkers of radiotherapy response. Some are inside the tumor microenvironment, as lymphocyte infiltration or PD-L1 expression, others are circulating biomarkers, including different types of hematological cells, cytokines and chemokines.

KPNB1-mediated nuclear import is required for motility and inflammatory transcription factor activity in cervical cancer cells

Karyopherin β1 is a nuclear import protein involved in the transport of proteins containing a nuclear localisation sequence. Elevated Karyopherin β1 expression has been reported in cancer and transformed cells and is essential for cancer cell proliferation and survival. Transcription factors such as NFĸB and AP-1 contain a nuclear localisation sequence and initiate the expression of multiple factors associated with inflammation and cancer cell biology. Our study investigated the effect of inhibiting nuclear import via Karyopherin β1 on cancer cell motility and inflammatory signaling using siRNA and the novel small molecule, Inhibitor of Nuclear Import-43, INI-43. Inhibition of Karyopherin β1 led to reduced migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells. Karyopherin β1 is essential for the translocation of NFĸB into the nucleus as nuclear import inhibition caused its cytoplasmic retention and decreased transcriptional activity. A similar decrease was seen in AP-1 transcriptional activity upon Karyopherin β1 inhibition. Consequently reduced interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor alpha and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor expression, target genes of NFkB and AP-1, was observed. Migration studies inhibiting individual transcription factors suggested that INI-43 may affect a combination of signaling events. Our study provides further evidence that inhibiting KPNB1 has anti-cancer effects and shows promise as a chemotherapeutic target.

Constructing Bayesian networks by integrating gene expression and copy number data identifies NLGN4Y as a novel regulator of prostate cancer progression

To understand the heterogeneity of prostate cancer (PCa) and identify novel underlying drivers, we constructed integrative molecular Bayesian networks (IMBNs) for PCa by integrating gene expression and copy number alteration data from published datasets. After demonstrating such IMBNs with superior network accuracy, we identified multiple sub-networks within IMBNs related to biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa and inferred the corresponding key drivers. The key drivers regulated a set of common effectors including genes preferentially expressed in neuronal cells. NLGN4Y—a protein involved in synaptic adhesion in neurons—was ranked as the top gene closely linked to key drivers of myogenesis subnetworks. Lower expression of NLGN4Y was associated with higher grade PCa and an increased risk of BCR. We show that restoration of the protein expression of NLGN4Y in PC-3 cells leads to decreased cell proliferation, migration and inflammatory cytokine expression. Our results suggest that NLGN4Y is an important negative regulator in prostate cancer progression. More importantly, it highlights the value of IMBNs in generating biologically and clinically relevant hypotheses about prostate cancer that can be validated by independent studies.

Constitutive gp130 activation rapidly accelerates the transformation of human hepatocytes via an impaired oxidative stress response

Pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, especially interleukin 6 (IL-6), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote carcinogenesis in the liver. In order to elucidate the underlying oncogenic mechanism, we activated the IL-6 signal transducer glycoprotein 130 (gp130) via stable expression of a constitutively active gp130 construct (L-gp130) in untransformed telomerase-immortalized human fetal hepatocytes (FH-hTERT). As known from hepatocellular adenomas, forced gp130 activation alone was not sufficient to induce malignant transformation. However, additional challenge of FH-hTERT L-gp130 clones with oxidative stress resulted in 2- to 3-fold higher ROS levels and up to 6-fold more DNA-double strand breaks (DSB). Despite increased DNA damage, ROS-challenged FH-hTERT L-gp130 clones displayed an enhanced proliferation and rapidly developed colony growth capabilities in soft agar. As driving gp130-mediated oncogenic mechanism, we detected a decreased expression of antioxidant genes, in particular glutathione peroxidase 3 and apolipoprotein E, and an absence of P21 upregulation following ROS-conferred induction of DSB. In summary, an impaired oxidative stress response in hepatocytes with gp130 gain-of-function mutations, as detected in dysplastic intrahepatic nodules and hepatocellular adenomas, is one of the central oncogenic mechanisms in chronic liver inflammation.

Knockout of the Nogo-B Gene Attenuates Tumor Growth and Metastasis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant cancer. It is a challenge to develop anti-HCC drugs due to HCC's extreme aggressiveness and with the sensitivity of the liver to show severe adverse effects. More importantly, the precise mechanisms causing HCC pathogenicity are not known. Our previous study disclosed Nogo-B as a reticulon 4 (Rtn4) family member. In the present study, we first identified that Nogo-B played a critical role in HCC progression. We found, via in vitro and in vivo assays, that Nogo-B was expressed aberrantly in primary HCC tumor tissues and immortal HCC cells but was relatively scarce in the normal liver tissues or cells. Nogo-B knockout, via the CRISPR-Cas9 technique, resulted in significant suppression of HCC cell proliferation and tumor growth. Next-generation sequencing analysis showed that Nogo-B knockout have effects on interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling pathway. Furthermore, we observed that IL-6 induced phosphorylation of STAT3 (pSTAT3) in wild-type HCC cells, but Nogo-B knockout could reduce IL-6-induced increase of pSTAT3, supporting that Nogo-B affects HCC tumor progression possibly via regulating the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway. In conclusion, Nogo-B is expressed aberrantly in HCCs and plays an oncogenic role. These findings support that Nogo-B may be a novel anti-HCC therapeutic target.

Platycodin D exerts anti-tumor efficacy in H22 tumor-bearing mice via improving immune function and inducing apoptosis

Platycodin D (PD), a major saponin derived and isolated from the roots of Platycodon grandiflorum, exerts potent growth inhibition and strong cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines. However, the anti-tumor efficacy of PD on H22 hepatocellular carcinoma remains unknown. In the present study, we aimed to explore the anti-hepatoma activity in vivo and the underlying mechanism of PD in H22 tumor-bearing mice. The results revealed that PD could considerably suppress tumor growth with no significant side effects on immune organs and body weight. Further investigations showed that the levels of serum cytokines, including interferon gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-2 (IL-2), were enhanced by PD administration. On the other hand, PD inhibited the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in serum of H22 tumor mice. Additionally, the observations from H&E and Hoechst 33258 staining results demonstrated that PD noticeably induced apoptosis in H22 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Importantly, immunohistochemical analysis showed that PD treatment increased Bax expression and decreased Bcl-2 and VEGF expression of H22 tumor tissues in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, the findings in the present investigation clearly demonstrated that the PD markedly suppressed the tumor growth of H22 transplanted tumor in vivo at least partly via improving the immune functions, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting angiogenesis.

Impact of CD44 expression on radiation response for bladder cancer

Background Identification of potential factors that can stratify tumors' response to specific therapies will aid in the selection of cancer therapy. Radioresistance is the major obstacles to positive outcomes in bladder cancer patients after definite chemotherapy. CD44, a cancer stem cell surface marker, is relevant in treatment resistance. In the present study, we examined the role of CD44 in bladder cancer.

Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes of 85 bladder cancer patients treated with definite chemoradiotherapy, and correlated the expressions of CD44 with IL-6 and treatment response. Furthermore, the bladder cancer cell lines HT1197 and MB49 were selected for cellular and animal experiments to investigate the links between the CD44, IL-6 and radiation response.

Results Analyzing the clinical specimen, the staining of CD44 was significantly linked with higher clinical stage, lower complete response rates, higher loco-regional failure rate and lower survival rate with intact bladder for patients treated with definite CCRT. In addition, the frequency of CD44 immunoreactivity was significantly higher in IL-6-positive bladder cancer specimens. By cellular experiments, the expression of CD44 was stimulated by IL-6 and linked with the cancer stem cell-like property. As demonstrated through in vitro and animal experiments using immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts, CD44+ bladder cancer cells appeared more resistant to irradiation, associated with less RT-induced cell death.

Conclusions Our findings suggested that CD44 is important in predicting the radiation response of bladder tumor cells. If overexpressed CD44 and/or IL-6 were noted in pre-surgical specimens, radical cystectomy is more likely to be preferred.

Prostate-specific IL-6 transgene autonomously induce prostate neoplasm through amplifying inflammation in the prostate and peri-prostatic adipose tissue

Background

The causative role of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in prostate cancer progression has been well established at molecular level. However, whether and how IL-6 may play a role in prostate cancer risk and development is not well defined. One limitation factor to acquiring this knowledge is the lack of appropriate animal models.

Methods

We generated a novel line of prostate-specific IL-6 transgenic mouse model. We compared the prostate pathology, tumorigenic signaling components, and prostate tumor microenvironment of the IL-6 transgenic mice with wild type littermates.

Results

With this model, we demonstrate that IL-6 induces prostate neoplasm autonomously. We further demonstrate that transgenic expression of IL-6 in the prostate activates oncogenic pathways, induces autocrine IL-6 secretion and steadily-state of STAT3 activation in the prostate tissue, upregulates paracrine insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling axis, reprograms prostate oncogenic gene expression, and more intriguingly, amplifies inflammation in the prostate and peri-prostatic adipose tissue.

Conclusions

The pro-inflammatory IL-6 is autonomous oncogene for the prostate. IL-6 induces prostate oncogenesis through amplifying local inflammation. We also presented a valuable animal model to study inflammation and prostate cancer development.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-016-0386-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Interleukin-6: an emerging regulator of pathological pain

Interleukin-6 is an inflammatory cytokine with wide-ranging biological effects. It has been widely demonstrated that neuroinflammation plays a critical role in the development of pathological pain. Recently, various pathological pain models have shown elevated expression levels of interleukin-6 and its receptor in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia. Additionally, the administration of interleukin-6 could cause mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, and an intrathecal injection of anti-interleukin-6 neutralizing antibody alleviated these pain-related behaviors. These studies indicated a pivotal role of interleukin-6 in pathological pain. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in understanding the roles and mechanisms of interleukin-6 in mediating pathological pain associated with bone cancer, peripheral nerve injury, spinal cord injury, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, complete Freund’s adjuvant injection, and carrageenan injection. Understanding and regulating interleukin-6 could be an interesting lead to novel therapeutic strategies for pathological pain.

A novel tumor-promoting mechanism of IL6 and the therapeutic efficacy of tocilizumab: Hypoxia-induced IL6 is a potent autophagy initiator in glioblastoma via the p-STAT3-MIR155-3p-CREBRF pathway

Hypoxia induces protective autophagy in glioblastoma cells and new therapeutic avenues that target this process may improve the outcome for glioblastoma patients. Recent studies have suggested that the autophagic process is upregulated in glioblastomas in response to extensive hypoxia. Hypoxia also induces the upregulation of a specific set of proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs) in a variety of cell types. IL6 (interleukin 6), an inflammatory autocrine and paracrine cytokine that is overexpressed in glioblastoma, has been reported to be a biomarker for poor prognosis because of its tumor-promoting effects. Here, we describe a novel tumor-promoting mechanism of IL6, whereby hypoxia-induced IL6 acts as a potent initiator of autophagy in glioblastoma via the phosphorylated (p)-STAT3-MIR155-3p pathway. IL6 and p-STAT3 levels correlated with the abundance of autophagic cells and HIF1A levels in human glioma tissues and with the grade of human glioma, whereas inhibition of exogenous or endogenous IL6 repressed autophagy in glioblastoma cells in vitro. Knockdown of endogenous MIR155-3p inhibited IL6-induced autophagy, and enforced expression of MIR155-3p restored the anti-autophagic activity of IL6 inhibitors. We show that the hypoxia-IL6-p-STAT3-MIR155-3p-CREBRF-CREB3-ATG5 pathway plays a central role in malignant glioma progression, with blockade of the IL6 receptor by tocilizumab demonstrating a certain level of therapeutic efficacy in a xenograft model in vivo, especially in combination with temozolomide. Moreover, tocilizumab inhibits autophagy by promoting tumor apoptosis. Collectively, our findings provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia-induced glioma cell autophagy and point toward a possible efficacious adjuvant therapy for glioblastoma patients.

The role of microRNA-26a in human cancer progression and clinical application

MicroRNAs, a class of endogenous, small (18-25 nucleotides) noncoding RNAs, regulate gene expression by directly binding to the 3'-untranslated regions of target messenger RNAs. Evidence has shown that alteration of microRNAs is involved in cancer initial and progression. MicroRNA-26a is commonly dysregulated in diverse cancers and is involved in various biological processes, including proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and metabolism by targeting multiple mRNAs. This review summarizes current research on the physiology and pathological functions of miR-26a and its applications for clinical therapy.

Significance of Interleukin-6 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

This study sought to reveal the significance of IL-6 in papillary thyroid carcinoma by determining its circulating levels, tumoral protein, and mRNA expressions. As compared to the healthy individuals, serum IL-6 was significantly higher in patients with benign thyroid diseases and PTC. Further, its level was significantly higher in PTC patients as compared to patients with benign thyroid diseases. ROC curves also confirmed a good discriminatory efficacy of serum IL-6 between healthy individuals and patients with benign thyroid diseases and PTC. The circulating IL-6 was significantly associated with poor overall survival in PTC patients. IL-6 immunoreactivity was significantly high in PTC patients as compared to the benign thyroid disease patients. Significantly higher IL-6 mRNA expression was also observed in the primary tumour tissues of PTC patients than the adjacent normal tissues. The protein expression of IL-6 at both the circulating and tissue level correlated with disease aggressiveness in PTC patients. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between the IL-6 protein and mRNA expression in the primary tumours of PTC patients. Finally in conclusion, IL-6 has an important role in thyroid cancer progression. Thus targeting IL-6 signalling can help in clinical management of thyroid carcinoma patients.

The role of PD-L1 in the radiation response and prognosis for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma related to IL-6 and T-cell immunosuppression

The aim of this study was to assess the significance of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its association with IL-6 and radiation response. Weretrospectively enrolled 162 patients with ESCC, and examined the correlation between PD-L1 levels and clinical outcomes in esophageal cancer patients. Furthermore, the human esophageal SCC cell line CE81T and TE2 were selected for cellular experiments to investigate the role of PD-L1 in T cell functions and radiation response. Here we demonstrated that PD-L1 expression was significantly higher in esophageal cancer specimens than in non-malignant epithelium. In clinical outcome analysis, this staining of PD-L1 was positively linked to the clinical T4 stage (p=0.004), development of LN metastasis (p=0.012) and higher loco-regional failure rate (p=0.0001). In addition, the frequency of PD-L1 immunoreactivity was significantly higher in IL-6-positive esophageal cancer specimens. When IL-6 signaling was inhibited in vitro, the level of PD-L1 is significantly down-regulated. PD-L1 is a significant predictor for poor treatment response and shorter survival.As demonstrated through in vitro experiments, Irradiation increased PD-L1 expression in human esophageal cancer cells. The inhibition of T cell functions including proliferation and cytotoxicity against tumor cells might be the mechanisms responsible to the role of PD-L1 in radiation response. In conclusion, PD-L1 is important in determining the radiation response and could predict the prognosis of patients with esophageal SCC. Therefore, we suggest inhibition of PD-L1 as a potential strategy for the treatment of esophageal SCC.

Interleukin-6 as a potential molecular target in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Knowledge of potential tumor markers may improve chemotherapeutic efficacy. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in local tumor tissues is associated with cancer progression and poor prognosis in variety of cancer types. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role and potential application of IL-6 in determining the prognosis of esophageal carcinoma. KYSE170 and TE13 esophageal cancer cell lines were used to conduct cell- and animal-based experiments investigating biological changes and tumor behavior. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that 70–80% of cancer cells exhibited positive staining for IL-6, compared with <15% of non-malignant epithelial cells. These immunohistochemical results were consistent with the mRNA expression levels detetced. The IL-6 silencing vector significantly reduced invasion and proliferation of the two cell lines and attenuated tumor growth in xenograft mouse models (P<0.05). The IL-6 silencing vector markedly reduced the presence of Ki-67 (a typical proliferation marker) and microvessel density, indicating that downregulation of IL-6 levels may greatly affect tumor growth and inhibition. The IL-6 silencing vector increased E-cadherin and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression levels in the two esophageal carcinoma cell lines. This vector also regulated the release of IL-6 in cell supernatant and serum in KYSE170- and TE13-tumor-bearing mice. The secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor and cluster of differentiation 31 (a nuclear protein) immunoreactive molecules were also reduced by the IL-6 silencing vector. Therefore, IL-6 may be an important trigger in the progression of angiogenesis and endothelial tube formation within the tumor, and targeting IL-6 may be a promising strategy for the treatment of esophageal cancer.

Interleukin 6 trigged ataxia-telangiectasia mutated activation facilitates lung cancer metastasis via MMP-3/MMP-13 up-regulation

Our previous studies show that the phosphorylation of ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) induced by interleukin 6 (IL-6) treatment contributes to multidrug resistance formation in lung cancer cells, but the exact role of ATM activation in IL-6 increased metastasis is still elusive. In the present study, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and MMP-13 were firstly demonstrated to be involved in IL-6 correlated cell migration. Secondly, IL-6 treatment not only increased MMP-3/MMP-13 expression but also augmented its activities. Thirdly, the inhibition of ATM phosphorylation efficiently abolished IL-6 up-regulating MMP-3/MMP-13 expression and increasing abilities of cell migration. Most importantly, the in vivo test showed that the inhibition of ATM abrogate the effect of IL-6 on lung cancer metastasis via MMP-3/MMP-13 down-regulation. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that IL-6 inducing ATM phosphorylation increases the expression of MMP-3/MMP-13, augments the abilities of cell migration, and promotes lung cancer metastasis, indicating that ATM is a potential target molecule to overcome IL-6 correlated lung cancer metastasis.

Cancer prevention and therapy through the modulation of the tumor microenvironment

Cancer arises in the context of an in vivo tumor microenvironment. This microenvironment is both a cause and consequence of tumorigenesis. Tumor and host cells co-evolve dynamically through indirect and direct cellular interactions, eliciting multiscale effects on many biological programs, including cellular proliferation, growth, and metabolism, as well as angiogenesis and hypoxia and innate and adaptive immunity. Here we highlight specific biological processes that could be exploited as targets for the prevention and therapy of cancer. Specifically, we describe how inhibition of targets such as cholesterol synthesis and metabolites, reactive oxygen species and hypoxia, macrophage activation and conversion, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase regulation of dendritic cells, vascular endothelial growth factor regulation of angiogenesis, fibrosis inhibition, endoglin, and Janus kinase signaling emerge as examples of important potential nexuses in the regulation of tumorigenesis and the tumor microenvironment that can be targeted. We have also identified therapeutic agents as approaches, in particular natural products such as berberine, resveratrol, onionin A, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, curcumin, naringenin, desoxyrhapontigenin, piperine, and zerumbone, that may warrant further investigation to target the tumor microenvironment for the treatment and/or prevention of cancer.

The Role of the Transcriptional Regulation of Stromal Cells in Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is a common process connecting pathologies that vary in their etiology and pathogenesis such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infections. The response of the immune system to tissue damage involves a carefully choreographed series of cellular interactions between immune and non-immune cells. In recent years, it has become clear that stromal resident cells have an essential role perpetuating the inflammatory environment and dictating in many cases the outcome of inflammatory based pathologies. Signal transduction pathways remain the main focus of study to understand how stimuli contribute to perpetuating the inflammatory response, mainly due to their potential role as therapeutic targets. However, molecular events orchestrated in the nucleus by transcription factors add additional levels of complexity and may be equally important for understanding the phenotypic differences of activated stromal components during the chronic inflammatory process. In this review, we focus on the contribution of transcription factors to the selective regulation of inducible proinflammatory genes, with special attention given to the regulation of the stromal fibroblastic cell function and response.