1. Academic Validation
  2. Human colorectal cancer-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote colorectal cancer progression through IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling

Human colorectal cancer-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote colorectal cancer progression through IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling

  • Cell Death Dis. 2018 Jan 18;9(2):25. doi: 10.1038/s41419-017-0176-3.
Xiaochao Zhang 1 2 Fayong Hu 1 Geng Li 1 Guodong Li 1 Xi Yang 1 Liang Liu 1 Rongsheng Zhang 1 Bixiang Zhang 2 Yongdong Feng 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Cancer Research Institute, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China.
  • 2 Hepatic Surgery Centre, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China.
  • 3 Cancer Research Institute, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China. ydfeng@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been reported to localize in colorectal carcinomas, and participate in the formation of the tumor microenvironment. They have recently been isolated from colorectal Cancer tissues, and are implicated in the growth, invasion, and metastasis of Cancer cells. However, the roles and detailed mechanisms associated with human colorectal cancer-derived MSCs (CC-MSCs) have not been fully addressed. In this study, we found that CC-MSCs increased the migration and invasion of colorectal Cancer cells and promoted the tumorigenesis of colorectal Cancer through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro. We also found that CC-MSCs enhanced the growth and metastasis of colorectal Cancer in vivo. Mechanistically, we determined that interleukin-6 (IL-6) was the most highly expressed cytokine in the CC-MSC conditioned medium, and promoted the progression of colorectal Cancer cells through IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling, which activated PI3K/Akt signaling. We used anti-IL-6 antibody to target IL-6. Collectively, these results reveal that the IL-6 secreted by CC-MSCs enhances the progression of colorectal Cancer cells through IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling, and could provide a novel therapeutic or preventive target.

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