Scientific Reports (Aug 2017)

An epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-inducing potential of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor in colon cancer

  • Yaqiong Chen,
  • Zhi Zhao,
  • Yu Chen,
  • Zhonglin Lv,
  • Xin Ding,
  • Renxi Wang,
  • He Xiao,
  • Chunmei Hou,
  • Beifen Shen,
  • Jiannan Feng,
  • Renfeng Guo,
  • Yan Li,
  • Hui Peng,
  • Gencheng Han,
  • Guojiang Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08047-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Growing evidence shows that granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has progression-promoting potentials in certain solid tumors, which is largely attributed to the immunomodulatory function of this cytokine in tumor niches. However, little is known about the effect of GM-CSF on cancer cells. Herein, we show that chronic exposure of colon cancer cells to GM-CSF, which harbor its receptor, leads to occurrence of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), in time and dose-dependent manners. These GM-CSF-educated cancer cells exhibit enhanced ability of motility in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, GM-CSF stimulation renders colon cancer cells more resistant to cytotoxic agents. Mechanistic investigation reveals that MAPK/ERK signaling and EMT-inducing transcription factor ZEB1 are critical to mediate these effects of GM-CSF. In specimen of CRC patients, high-level expression of GM-CSF positively correlates with local metastases in lymph nodes. Moreover, the co-expression of GM-CSF and its receptors as well as phosphorylated ERK1/2 are observed. Thus, our study for the first time identifies a progression-promoting function of GM-CSF in colon cancer by inducing EMT.