Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) are highly metastatic with poor prognosis, mainly due to delayed detection. We hypothesized that intercellular communication is critical for metastatic progression. Here, we show that PDAC- derived exosomes induce liver pre-metastatic niche formation in naïve mice and consequently increase liver metastatic burden. Uptake of PDAC-derived exosomes by Kupffer cells caused transforming growth factor β secretion and upregulation of fibronectin production by hepatic stellate cells. This fibrotic microenvironment enhanced recruitment of bone marrow-derived macrophages. We found that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was highly expressed in PDAC-derived exosomes, and its blockade prevented liver pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis. Compared to patients whose pancreatic tumors did not progress, MIF was markedly higher in exosomes from stage I PDAC patients who later developed liver metastasis. These findings suggest that exosomal MIF primes the liver for metastasis and may be a prognostic marker for the development of PDAC liver metastasis.
We have investigated the importance of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in promoting tumor growth and metastasis. In human primary breast cancers, increased levels of IL-6 were found at the tumor leading edge and positively correlated with advanced stage, suggesting a mechanistic link between tumor cell production of IL-6 and invasion. In support of this hypothesis, we showed that the IL-6/Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) pathway drives tumor progression through the stroma and metastatic niche. Overexpression of IL-6 in tumor cell lines promoted myeloid cell recruitment, angiogenesis, and induced metastases. We demonstrated the therapeutic potential of interrupting this pathway with IL-6 receptor blockade or by inhibiting its downstream effectors JAK1/2 or Stat3. These clinically relevant interventions did not inhibit tumor cell proliferation in vitro but had profound effects in vivo on tumor progression, interfering broadly with tumor-supportive stromal functions, including angiogenesis, fibroblast infiltration, and myeloid suppressor cell recruitment in both the tumor and pre-metastatic niche. This study provides the first evidence for IL-6 expression at the leading edge of invasive human breast tumors and demonstrates mechanistically that IL-6/JAK/Stat3 signaling plays a critical and pharmacologically targetable role in orchestrating the composition of the tumor microenvironment that promotes growth, invasion, and metastasis.
Methylglyoxal (MG), the major dicarbonyl substrate of the enzyme glyoxalase 1 (GLO1), is a reactive metabolite formed via glycolytic flux. Decreased GLO1 activity in situ has been shown to result in an accumulation of MG and increased formation of advanced glycation endproducts, both of which can accumulate during physiological aging and at an accelerated rate in diabetes and other chronic degenerative diseases. To determine the physiological consequences which result from elevated MG levels and the role of MG and GLO1 in aging, wound healing in young (≤12 weeks) and old (≥52 weeks) wild-type mice was studied. Old mice were found to have a significantly slower rate of wound healing compared to young mice (74.9 ± 2.2 vs. 55.4 ± 1.5% wound closure at day 6; 26% decrease; p < 0.0001). This was associated with decreases in GLO1 transcription, expression and activity. The importance of GLO1 was confirmed in mice by inhibition of GLO1. Direct application of MG to the wounds of young mice, decreased wound healing by 24% compared to untreated mice, whereas application of BSA modified minimally by MG had no effect. Treatment of either young or old mice with aminoguanidine, a scavenger of free MG, significantly increased wound closure by 16% (66.8 ± 1.6 vs. 77.2 ± 3.1%; p < 0.05) and 64% (40.4 ± 7.9 vs. 66.4 ± 5.2%; p < 0.05), respectively, by day 6. As a result of the aminoguanidine treatment, the overall rate of wound healing in the old mice was restored to the level observed in the young mice. These findings were confirmed in vitro, as MG reduced migration and proliferation of fibroblasts derived from young and old, wild-type mice. The data demonstrate that the balance between MG and age-dependent GLO1 downregulation contributes to delayed wound healing in old mice.
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