Interleukin 23 Promotes Lung Adenocarcinoma A549 Cell Migration and Invasion

Background and objective Interleukin 23 (IL-23) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in inflammatory disease and tumor microenvironment. The IL-23 receptor is expressed in colon, lung, and oral carcinomas. We performed this study to investigate whether IL-23 promotes directly carcinoma cell migration and invasion as well as further explore its mechanism. Methods The migration and invasion of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells induced by IL-23 were detected by a scratch test and Transwell experiment. MMP-9 expression of the mRNA and protein levels of A549 cells cultured with and without IL-23 was respectively detected by Real-time PCR and ELISA. The effect of IL-23 on A549 cells was further verified using anti-IL-23p19 neutralization antibody (Ab IL-23p19) to eliminate IL-23. Results IL-23 remarkably promoted A549 cell migration and invasion. MMP-9 expression in A549 cells was upregulated by IL-23 stimulation. In addition, the effect of IL-23 on the migration and invasion of A549, as well as the MMP-9 expression in A549 cells induced by IL-23, was eliminated by Ab IL-23p19. Conclusion IL-23 promotes the migration and invasion of A549 cells by inducing MMP-9 expression. DOI: 10.3779/j.issn.1009-3419.2012.05.01