title: Interleukin-6 promotes cervical tumor growth by VEGF-dependent angiogenesis via a STAT3 pathway.
abstract: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has received particular attention in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer, although the underlying mechanism remains elusive. This study revealed that IL-6 promotes in vivo tumor growth of human cervical cancer C33A cells, but does not substantially alter their in vitro growth kinetics. The in vivo angiogenic assays showed that IL-6 increases angiogenic activity in human cervical cancer cells, an effect that is specifically associated with upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Also, using anti-VEGF antibody to block VEGF function significantly inhibited IL-6-mediated angiogenesis and tumor growth in nude mice, strongly supporting the critical role of VEGF in the IL-6-mediated cervical tumorigenesis. Accordingly, the signaling pathway downstream of IL-6/IL-6R responsible for the regulation of VEGF was investigated. Notably, pharmacological inhibition of PI3-K or MAPK failed to inhibit IL-6-mediated transcriptional upregulation of VEGF. Meanwhile, blocking STAT3 pathway with dominant-negative mutant STAT3D effectively abolished IL-6-induced VEGF mRNA. In transient transfections, a luciferase reporter construct containing the full-length 1.5-kb VEGF promoter or a 1.2-kb fragment lacking the known hypoxic-response element also exhibited the same degree of response to IL-6. Additionally, transient transfection of STAT3D downregulated the 1.2-kb VEGF promoter luciferase reporter stimulated by IL-6. Based on the above phenomenon combined with the concomitant increased tumor expression of IL-6 and VEGF in cervical cancer tissues, we conclude that IL-6 may promote cervical tumorigenesis by activating VEGF-mediated angiogenesis via a STAT3 pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan Unviersity College of Medicine, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lin-Hung
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Min-Liang
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Chi-An
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Kuo-Bau
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Chien-Nan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chang-Yao
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hsieh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology; D015197:Carcinogenicity Tests; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000378:metabolism; D002642:Chick Embryo; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000494:pharmacology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D012016:Reference Values; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D015854:Up-Regulation; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008222:Lymphokines; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; C494087:Stat3 protein, mouse; D015534:Trans-Activators; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors