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Exosomes derived from nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells induce IL-6 production from macrophages to promote tumorigenesis

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 18, pages 501–503 (2021)Cite this article

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Chronic inflammation in the tumor microenvironment can promotes tumorigenesis. Various immune cells, including macrophages, can infiltrate into the tumor microenvironment and secrete abundant inflammatory cytokines.1 Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major inflammatory cytokine that is widely involved in the tumorigenesis of many cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).2 In NPC patients, serum IL-6 was elevated and positively correlated with poor prognosis, suggesting that IL-6 may play a critical role in NPC progression.2,3 Indeed, previous studies demonstrated that IL-6 could activate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC cells.2 However, the mechanism underlying the upregulation of IL-6 in NPC remains elusive.

Within solid tumors, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the most abundant immune cell type that can be affected by tumor factors and produce abundant inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6, to support tumorigenesis.4 For example, human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells could significantly enhance macrophages to produce IL-6, which subsequently induced the expansion of HCC stem cells.5 Moreover, colorectal cancer cells could secrete CCL2 to recruit TAMs, which further produced abundant IL-6.6 This evidence highlights the protumoral role of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment by producing IL-6. However, it is still not clear whether IL-6-producing macrophages in the tumor microenvironment are involved in NPC development and progression.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the General Research Fund, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (17122519, 17126317, 17115015, 17121214), Hong Kong SAR, China.

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  1. Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Xiwei Wang, Zheng Xiang & Wenwei Tu

  2. School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    George Sai-Wah Tsao

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Correspondence to Wenwei Tu.

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Wang, X., Xiang, Z., Tsao, G.SW. et al. Exosomes derived from nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells induce IL-6 production from macrophages to promote tumorigenesis. Cell Mol Immunol 18, 501–503 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0420-0

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