Interleukin-8 and human cancer biology

• Published in: Cytokine & growth factor reviews Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 375 - 391
• Main Author: Xie, Keping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2001
• Subjects: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - genetics; Humans; Interleukin-8; Interleukin-8 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-8 - genetics; Interleukin-8 - immunology; Interleukin-8 - physiology; Leukocytes; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasms - therapy; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma; Interleukin-8; Leukocytes
• ISSN: 1359-6101
• DOI: 10.1016/S1359-6101(01)00016-8

The aggressive nature of metastatic human cancer has been shown to be related to numerous abnormalities in growth factors and their receptors. These perturbations confer a tremendous growth advantage to the malignant cells. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), originally discovered as a chemotactic factor for leukocytes, has recently been shown to contribute to human cancer progression through its potential functions as a mitogenic, angiogenic, and motogenic factor. While it is constitutively detected in human cancer tissues and established cell lines, IL-8 expression is regulated by various tumor microenvironment factors, such as hypoxia, acidosis, nitric oxide, and cell density. Understanding the mechanisms of both inducible and constitutive IL-8 expression will be helpful in designing potential therapeutic strategies of targeting IL-8 to control tumor growth and metastasis. In this review, the role and regulation of IL-8 expression in the growth and metastasis of human cancer with a focus on human pancreatic adenocarcinoma will be discussed.