Work

Growth-suppressive activity of raloxifene on liver cancer cells by targeting IL-6/GP130 signaling

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: // Yina Wang 1, * , Haiyan Ma 1, * , Chongqiang Zhao 1 , Tianshu Liu 1 , Dan Yan 1 , David Jou 2 , Huameng Li 3 , Cuntai Zhang 4 , Jiagao Lü 1 , Chenglong Li 3 , Jiayuh Lin 2 , Sheng Li 1 , Li Lin 1 1 Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China 2 Center for Childhood Cancer, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA 3 Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA 4 Department of Geriatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Li Lin, email: [email protected] , [email protected] Sheng Li, email: [email protected] Keywords: raloxifene, GP130, STAT3, liver cancer Received: September 28, 2016 Accepted: March 28, 2017 Published: April 06, 2017 ABSTRACT Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine, which is involved in the regulation of differentiation and growth of certain types of tumor cells. Constitutive activation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) induced by IL-6 is frequently detected in liver cancer and has emerged as a viable molecular target for liver cancer treatment. However, few inhibitors targeting up-streams of STAT3 are available for the therapy of liver cancer. We reported the discovery of EVISTA (Raloxifene HCl) as novel inhibitor of IL-6/GP130 protein-protein interactions (PPIs) using multiple ligand simultaneous docking (MLSD) and drug repositioning. The possible effect of Raloxifene in STAT3 signaling or liver cancer cells is still unclear. Results: Raloxifene inhibited the P-STAT3 stimulated by IL-6, but not the induction of STAT1 and STAT6 phosphorylation by IFN-γ, IFN-α, and IL-4. Raloxifene inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and resulted in the induction apoptosis on human liver cancer cell-lines. Raloxifene inhibited the targets of STAT3, such as Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and survivin and cell viability, cell migration, and colony formation in liver cancer cells. Further, daily administration of Raloxifene suppressed the Hep-G2 tumor growth in mice in vivo . Materials and Methods: The inhibitory effect on STAT3 phosphorylation and activity as well as cell viability, migration, and colony forming ability by Raloxifene was examined in human liver cancer cells. Tumor growth was detected via mouse xenograft tumor mode. Conclusions: Our results suggest that Raloxifene is a potent IL-6/GP130 inhibitor and may be a chemoprevention agent for liver cancer by targeting persistent STAT3 signaling.

Source: Oncotarget

DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.16898