ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the effects of exogenous interleukin (IL)-37 on the biological characteristics of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and the chemotaxis of regulatory T (Treg) cells. METHODS: After isolating the CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells from the peripheral blood, flow cytometry was used to detect the purity of the Treg cells. A549 cells were divided into blank (no transfection), empty plasmid (transfection with pIRES2-EGFP empty plasmid) or IL-37 group (transfection with pIRES2-EGFP-IL-37 plasmid). RT-PCR was used to detect mRNA expression of IL-37 and ELISA to determine IL-37 and MMP-9 expressions. Western blotting was applied to detect the protein expressions of PCNA, Ki-67, Cyclin D1, CDK4, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9. MTT assay, flow cytometry, scratch test and transwell assay were performed to detect cell proliferation, cycle, apoptosis, migration and invasion. Effect of exogenous IL-37 on the chemotaxis of Treg cells was measured through transwell assay. Xenograft models in nude mice were eastablished to detect the impact of IL-37 on A549 cells. RESULTS: The IL-37 group had a higher IL-37 expression, cell apoptosis in the early stage and percentage of cells in the G0/G1 phase than the blank and empty plasmid groups. The IL-37 group had a lower MMP-9 expression, optical density (OD), percentage of cells in the S and G2/M phases, migration, invasion and chemotaxis of CD4+CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg cells. The xenograft volume and weight of nude mice in the IL-37 group were lower than those in the blank and empty plasmid groups. Compared with the blank and empty plasmid groups, the IL-37 group had significantly reduced expression of PCNA, Ki-67, Cyclin D1 and CDK4 but elevated expression of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9. CONCLUSION: Therefore, exogenous IL-37 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells as well as the chemotaxis of Treg cells while promoting the apoptosis of A549 cells.
Subject(s)
Chemotaxis/drug effects , Chemotaxis/immunology , Interleukin-1/pharmacology , T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/drug effects , T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology , Adenocarcinoma/genetics , Adenocarcinoma/immunology , Adenocarcinoma/metabolism , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Adenocarcinoma of Lung , Adolescent , Adult , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Biomarkers , Cell Cycle/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Disease Models, Animal , Female , Humans , Immunophenotyping , Interleukin-1/genetics , Interleukin-1/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Lung Neoplasms/immunology , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Male , Mice , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/drug effects , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/metabolism , T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/metabolism , Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) plays an important role in the regulation of ovarian function and ovarian cancer cell growth. In this study, we determined whether administration of the GnRH agonist (GnRHa), triporelin, prior to cisplatin treatment affects cisplatin and/or prevents cisplatin-induced ovarian damage. METHODS: nu/nu mice were injected with ovarian cancer OVCAR-3 cells intraperitoneally. After two weeks, the mice were treated with saline (control), cisplatin, GnRHa, or cisplatin plus GnRHa for four weeks. At the end of the experimental protocol, blood, tumor, ovary, and uterine tissues were resected for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemical analyses of Ki67, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and caspase-3, transmission electron microscopy of apoptosis, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH). RESULTS: Cisplatin treatment effectively inhibited tumor growth in mice treated with human ovarian cancer cells; however the treatment also induced considerable toxicity. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that Ki67 expression was reduced in cisplatin-treated mice compared to control (P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant differences between cisplatin-treated mice and cisplatin plus GnRHa-treated mice (P>0.05), while expressions of NF-κB and caspase-3 were reduced and induced, respectively, in cisplatin-treated mice and cisplatin plus GnRHa-treated mice. Apoptosis occurred in the GnRHa, cisplatin, and cisplatin plus GnRHa-treated mice, but not in control mice. Ovaries exposed to GnRHa in both GnRHa mice and cisplatin-treated mice (combination group) had significantly more primordial and growth follicles and serum levels of AMH than those in the control mice and cisplatin-treated mice (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of GnRHa to mice significantly decreased the extent of ovarian damage induced by cisplatin, but did not affect the anti-tumor activity of cisplatin.
