title: Constitutive STAT3-activation in Sezary syndrome: tyrphostin AG490 inhibits STAT3-activation, interleukin-2 receptor expression and growth of leukemic Sezary cells.
abstract: Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a growth factor which upon binding to high-affinity receptors (IL-2Ralphabetagamma) triggers mitogenesis in T cells. IL-2Ralpha expression is restricted to T cells which have recently encountered antigen, and in healthy individuals the majority (>95%) of peripheral T cells are IL-2Ralpha negative. An aberrant expression of IL-2Ralpha has recently been described in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Here, we study the regulation of IL-2Ralpha expression and STATs in a tumor cell line obtained from peripheral blood from a patient with Sezary syndrome (SS), a leukemic variant of CTCL. We show that (1) STAT3 (a transcription factor known to regulate IL-2Ralpha transcription) is constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated in SS tumor cells, but not in non-malignant T cells; (2) STAT3 binds constitutively to a STAT-binding sequence in the promotor of the IL-2Ralpha gene; (3) the Janus kinase inhibitor, tyrphostine AG490, inhibits STAT3 activation, STAT3 DNA binding, and IL-2Ralpha mRNA and protein expression in parallel; and (4) tyrphostine AG490 inhibits IL-2 driven mitogenesis and triggers apoptosis in SS tumor cells. In conclusion, we provide the first example of a constitutive STAT3 activation in SS tumor cells. Moreover, our findings suggest that STAT3 activation might play an important role in the constitutive IL-2Ralpha expression, survival, and growth of malignant SS cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Eriksen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaltoft
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mikkelsen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Geisler
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Röpke
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wasik
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Odum
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D053616:Janus Kinase 3; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D012751:Sezary Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D020032:Tyrphostins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D020032:Tyrphostins; C095512:alpha-cyano-(3,4-dihydroxy)-N-benzylcinnamide; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C507933:JAK3 protein, human; D053616:Janus Kinase 3