Tumor-associated macrophage-derived CXCL8 could induce ERα suppression via HOXB13 in endometrial cancer.

Abstract Purpose To elucidate the role of tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) in the loss of ERα in endometrial cancer (EC) and the underlying mechanism. Materials and methods Tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry assays were performed using endometrial cancer tissue along with coculture, immunofluorescence, invasion assays and ChIP-qPCR using a human endometrial cancer cell line. Results Compared with normal tissue, an increased number of TAM was found in EC tissue (34.0 ± 2.6 vs. 8.3 ± 1.1, respectively; p  Conclusion TAM-secreted CXCL8 downregulated the ERα expression of EC cells via HOXB13, which may be associated with cancer invasion, metastasis and poor prognosis.