IL-17 induces AKT-dependent IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 activation and tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Molecular Cancer - Tập 10 - Trang 1-13 - 2011
Fang-Ming Gu1, Quan-Lin Li1,2, Qiang Gao1, Jia-Hao Jiang1, Kai Zhu3, Xiao-Yong Huang1, Jin-Feng Pan1, Jun Yan1, Jin-Hui Hu4, Zheng Wang1, Zhi Dai1,3, Jia Fan1,3, Jian Zhou1,3
1Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China
2Endoscopy Center and Endoscopy Research Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R.China
3Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P.R. China
4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gongli Hospital, Pudong new area, Shanghai, P.R.China

Tóm tắt

The Th17 subset and IL-17 have been found in increased frequencies within certain tumors. However, their relevance in cancer biology remains controversial. This study aimed to clarify the biological action of IL-17 on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of IL-17 on human HCC were explored in vitro using exogenous IL-17 stimulation and in nude mice by implanting IL-17 overexpressed HCC cells. The clinical significance of IL-17 was investigated in tissue microarrays containing HCC tissues from 323 patients following hepatectomy using immunohistochemistry. Although exogenous IL-17 showed no direct effect on the growth rate of HCC cells in vitro, PCR and ELISA showed that IL-17 selectively augmented the secretion of diverse proinvasive factors and transwell showed a direct promotion of invasion of HCC cells by IL-17. Furthermore, transfection of IL-17 into HCC cells significantly promoted neoangiogenesis, neutrophil recruitment and tumor growth in vivo. Using siRNA mediated knockdown of AKT and STAT3, we suggested that the effects of IL-17 were operated through activation of the AKT signaling in HCC, which resulted in IL-6 production. Then, IL-6 in turn activated JAK2/STAT3 signaling and subsequently up-regulated its downstream targets IL-8, MMP2, and VEGF. Supporting these findings, in human HCC tissues, immunostaining indicated that IL-17 expression was significantly and positively associated with STAT3 phosphorylation, neutrophil infiltration and increased tumor vascularity. The clinical significance of IL-17 was authenticated by revealing that the combination of intratumoral IL-17+ cells and phospho-STAT3 served as a better prognosticator for postoperative tumor recurrence than either marker alone. IL-17 mediated tumor-promoting role involves a direct effect on HCC cells through IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 induction by activating the AKT pathway.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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