IL-6 promotion of glioblastoma cell invasion and angiogenesis in U251 and T98G cell lines

J Neurooncol. 2010 Nov;100(2):165-76. doi: 10.1007/s11060-010-0158-0. Epub 2010 Apr 2.

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a growth and survival factor in human glioblastoma cells and plays an important role in malignant progression. However, its role in glioblastoma invasion is still unknown. This study shows how IL-6 promotes cell invasion and migration in U251 and T98G glioblastoma cell lines. The underlying mechanism includes both protease-dependent and -independent manners. Stimulation with IL-6 increased MMP9 expression in the two cell lines but had no influence on MMP2 expression. Fascin-1 is a cell skeleton binding protein and plays a key role in cell migration and invasion. Its binding style directly influences cell morphology and tendency to become deformed. After IL-6 exposure, fascin-1 expression increased in an IL-6 dose-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence also revealed that the binding style of fascin-1 had changed after IL-6 exposure, resulting in a more invasive phenotype of the cells. Three most commonly emphasized invasion-associated signaling pathways, including JAK-STAT3, p42/44 MAPK, and PI3K/AKT, were verified to further illustrate its underlying mechanism. Only phosphorylation of STAT3 at ser 727 site paralleled the IL-6 stimulation, and JSI-124, a specific JAK-STAT3 pathway blocker, deterred the invasion and migration promotive effect of IL-6, indicating that the JAK/STAT3 pathway mediates signal transduction. Furthermore, IL-6 also acts in a paracrine fashion to promote vascular endothelial cell migration, thus facilitating tumor angiogenesis and invasion. These results suggest that IL-6 promotes glioblastoma cell invasion and angiogenesis and may be a potential anti-invasion target.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Movement
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Glioblastoma / metabolism*
  • Glioblastoma / pathology
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Interleukin-6 / biosynthesis*
  • Microfilament Proteins / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology*
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / metabolism*
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / pathology
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction / physiology

Substances

  • Carrier Proteins
  • FSCN1 protein, human
  • IL6 protein, human
  • Interleukin-6
  • Microfilament Proteins