Role of interleukin-10 in macrophage promoted progress in pancreatic cancer

Objective To examine the role of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in macrophage induced progression of pancreatic cancer. Methods Based on the different intervention methods for IL-10 in macrophages, nude mices were divided into five groups: IL-10 overexpression group; Recombinant IL-10 group; IL-10 neutralizing antibody group; IL-10 low expression group and control group. The tumor growth and the size of metastases were measured. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers including proliferation cell nuclear antigen (Ki-67), E-cadherin, Vinmentin and Snail protein expressions were detected. Multiple groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. Results The volumes in overexpression and recombinant factor group were significantly larger than that in control group, which were (1 089.8±60.3), (987.4±50.2), (660.5±40.1) mm3 respectively. The difference is significant (F=20.341, P 0.05), while the neutralizing antibodies in the low expression group and the control group were significantly lower (F=11.103, P<0.05). These results were same to liver in peritoneum and diaphragm metastases. E-cadherin expression in overexpression group and recombinant factor group was significantly lower than that in control group, which were 0.070±0.003, 0.060±0.002 and 0.300±0.020, respectively (F=15.320, P<0.05). The expression of Ki-67, Vinmentin and Snail showed opposite changes: increased in the overexpression group and recombinant factor group, while decreased significantly in the neutralizing antibody and low expression group. Conclusion IL-10 plays an important role in the macrophage induced progression of pancreatic cancer. Key words: Pancreatic cancer; Macrophage; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Interleukin-10