Abstract 942: Role of IL-8/CXCR2 network in the tumor cell proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Inoue Masazumi , Takeuchi Hiroya , Matsuda Sachiko , Nishi Tomohiko , Fukuda Kazumasa , Nakamura Rieko , Takahashi Tsunehiro , Wada Norihito , Kawakubo Hirofumi , Kitagawa Yuko 
Published: July 2016

Background: IL-8, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and its receptor, CXCR2, are expressed invarious cancer cells. The IL-8/CXCR2 network is believed to be involved in angiogenesis, tumor cell proliferation and invasion. However, its role inesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of the IL-8/CXCR2 network in the tumor microenvironment of ESCC.

Methods: IL-8 and CXCR2 expression was investigated immunohistochemically in 63 primary ESCCs with R0 resection but without any preoperative treatment. We evaluated the intensity of the staining in four grades; grades 3 (strong) and 2 (medium) were deemed “positive”, and 1 (weak) and 0 (negative) as “negative”. The concentration of IL-8 and

CXCR2 were investigated using the human ESCC cell lines TE1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15. IL-8/CXCR2 signaling was stimulated by IL-8 addition, and suppressed by SB225002 (Cayman Chemical) treatment, a selective antagonist of CXCR2, and IL-8 specific siRNA. Stable IL-8 over-expressing TE4 cells were established, and cell proliferation assays were performed. To evaluate tumor growth in vivo, we subcutaneously inoculated 1.0×106 TE4 cells or transfectant into nude mice, and half of the

transfectant-inoculated mice received 1mg/kg of SB225002 by intraperitoneal injection thrice weekly. The size and incidence of subcutaneous tumors were recorded.

Result: Eight (12.7%) patients were positive for IL-8/CXCR2 network immunostaining. IL-8/CXCR2 network expression was significantly

related to poor survival in ESCC patients (P&lt;0.05). IL-8 concentration was high in TE4, 5, 10 and 14 supernatant, and low in that of TE1, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 15. CXCR2 expression was high in TE1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 cells, and low in TE10, 11, 14, and 15. We chose TE1 and TE4 cells for further investigation. Stimulation or inhibition of the IL-8/CXCR2 network resulted in significant enhancement or suppression of cell proliferation in both cell lines (P&lt;0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. IL-8 over-expressing TE4 cells showed significantly higher proliferative activity than the parental line (P&lt;0.05), which was markedly suppressed by inhibition of the IL-8/CXCR2

network using SB225002 (P&lt;0.05). In vivo, tumor sizes were smaller in the SB225002-treated group than in the untreated group.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that stimulation of the IL-8/CXCR2 network clearly enhanced ESCC cell proliferation, while its inhibition obviously suppressed ESCC cell proliferation in vitro. These results indicate that control of IL-8/CXCR2 network signaling may be a new therapeutic strategy for ESCC.

Citation Format: Masazumi Inoue, Hiroya Takeuchi, Sachiko Matsuda, Tomohiko Nishi, Kazumasa Fukuda, Rieko Nakamura, Tsunehiro Takahashi, Norihito Wada, Hirofumi Kawakubo, Yuko Kitagawa. Role of IL-8/CXCR2 network in the tumor cell proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 942.