Abstract

Growing evidence shows that granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has progression-promoting potentials in certain solid tumors, which is largely attributed to the immunomodulatory function of this cytokine in tumor niches. However, little is known about the effect of GM-CSF on cancer cells. Herein, we show that chronic exposure of colon cancer cells to GM-CSF, which harbor its receptor, leads to occurrence of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), in time and dose-dependent manners. These GM-CSF-educated cancer cells exhibit enhanced ability of motility in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, GM-CSF stimulation renders colon cancer cells more resistant to cytotoxic agents. Mechanistic investigation reveals that MAPK/ERK signaling and EMT-inducing transcription factor ZEB1 are critical to mediate these effects of GM-CSF. In specimen of CRC patients, high-level expression of GM-CSF positively correlates with local metastases in lymph nodes. Moreover, the co-expression of GM-CSF and its receptors as well as phosphorylated ERK1/2 are observed. Thus, our study for the first time identifies a progression-promoting function of GM-CSF in colon cancer by inducing EMT.

Details

Title
An epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-inducing potential of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor in colon cancer
Author
Chen, Yaqiong 1 ; Zhao, Zhi 2 ; Chen, Yu 3 ; Lv, Zhonglin 4 ; Ding, Xin 5 ; Wang, Renxi 4 ; He, Xiao 4 ; Hou, Chunmei 4 ; Shen, Beifen 4 ; Jiannan Feng 4 ; Guo, Renfeng 6 ; Li, Yan 4 ; Peng, Hui 7 ; Han, Gencheng 4 ; Chen, Guojiang 4 

 Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China; College of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China 
 Department of Pathology, Yihe Hospital, Henan University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China 
 Department of Experimental Animals, Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, P.R. China 
 Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China 
 Graduate School, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, P.R. China 
 Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA 
 College of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, P.R. China; Department of Environment and Pharmacy, Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, P.R. China 
Pages
1-12
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Aug 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1957225912
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.