The proinflammatory cytokine, IL-6, and its interference with bFGF signaling and PSMA in prostate cancer cells - Abstract

The aim of the present work was to study the expression of the proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6), mediated by bFGF signaling and its possible crosstalk with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in LNCaP and PC3-PSMA prostate cancer cell lines.

PC3 cells stably transfected with PSMA gene were used for restoring PSMA expression. LNCaP and PC3-PSMA cells were exposed to 10 ng/mL of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). IL-6 production was measured by ELISA assay, and levels of PSMA expression were assessed by flow cytometry. AKT, ERK1/2, and p38 phosphorylation were detected by Western blot. bFGF enhances IL-6 production in LNCaP and PC3-PSMA prostate cancer cells. The effect of bFGF on stimulating IL-6 secretion was greater in LNCaP than in PC3-PSMA cells. In the presence of bFGF, PSMA expression was activated after 4 days of treatment in LNCaP and PC3-PSMA cells. This activation was not maintained after long term of treatment in both metastatic cell lines. Solely MAPKs pathways (ERK1/2 and p38) were activated after bFGF stimulation in both metastatic cell lines, whereas AKT did not show any activation. The interference of the proinflammatory cytokine, IL-6, with bFGF signaling and PSMA, should be of high clinical relevance in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. In developing novel therapeutic modalities targeting IL-6, significant attention should be given to PSMA and its inactivation to fight against prostate cancer.

Written by:
Ben Jemaa A, Sallami S, Ramarli D, Colombatti M, Oueslati R.   Are you the author?
Unit of Immunology and Microbiology Environmental and Carcinogenesis (IMEC), Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, University of Carthage, 7021, Bizerte, Zarzouna, Tunisia.

Reference: Inflammation. 2012 Dec 19. (Epub ahead of print)

PubMed Abstract

PMID: 23250823