Cell-line-specific stimulation of tumor cell aggressiveness by wound healing factors – a central role for STAT3

BMC Cancer

Research Article

Lars Ekblad¹  Elisabeth Kjellén¹  Gustaf Lindgren²  Johan Wennerberg²  Emma Persson³ 

[1] Department of Oncology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;

关键词: Head and neck cancer;    Local recurrence;    Wound healing;    Proliferation;    Invasion;    Migration;    STAT3;    IL-6;    IL6R;    Tocilizumab;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2407-13-33

 received in 2012-09-12, accepted in 2013-01-23,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLocal recurrence is a major factor affecting survival after treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). It is possible that the normal processes involved in wound healing after surgical removal of a primary tumor can boost the regrowth of residual cancer cells, thereby contributing to the recurrent growth. In this work, we collected human wound fluids and used them to investigate the effect of wound healing factors on HNSCC cell lines in vitro.MethodsWound fluids were collected from thyroidectomized patients diagnosed with benign disease and were included in assays of cell proliferation, migration, cell scattering, and invasion. The involvement of intracellular signaling pathways and membrane receptors were investigated by western blotting and the inclusion of specific inhibitors.ResultsOne out of four cell lines was greatly stimulated in proliferation, migration, cell scattering, and invasion by the addition of wound fluid as compared with addition of fetal bovine or human serum. These effects were accompanied by a sharp increase in activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Inhibition of STAT3 activation abolished the wound fluid response, showing that STAT3 plays an important role in the wound healing response. Several of the observed phenotypic changes were epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like, but the appropriate changes were not seen in any of the EMT markers investigated. The involvement of c-Met or epidermal growth factor receptor family members was excluded, while the interleukin-6 receptor was found to be partly responsible for the activation of STAT3.ConclusionsIn conclusion, we found cell-line-specific effects of wound healing factors on HNSCC, setting the stage for therapy development and predictive opportunities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Ekblad et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013