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Leukemia Inhibitory Factor: A Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive, treatment-resistant cancer. Five-year survival rate is about 9%, one of the lowest among all solid tumors. Such a poor outcome is partly due to the limited knowledge of tumor biology, and the resulting lack of effective treatment options and robust predictive biomarkers. The leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) has recently emerged as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for PDAC. Accumulating evidence has suggested that LIF plays a role in supporting cancer evolution as a regulator of cell differentiation, renewal and survival. Interestingly, it can be detected in the serum of PDAC patients at higher concentrations than healthy individuals, this supporting its potential value as diagnostic biomarker. Furthermore, preliminary data indicate that testing for LIF serum concentration or tissue expression may help with treatment response monitoring and prognostication. Finally, studies in PDAC mouse models have also shown that LIF may be a valuable therapeutic target, and first-in-human clinical trial is currently ongoing. This article aims to review the available data on the role of LIF in PDAC promotion, and to discuss the evidence supporting its potential role as a biomarker and target of effective anti-cancer therapy in this setting.

SUBMITTER: Wrona E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7907038 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe role of the IL6 family members in organ fibrosis, including renal interstitial fibrosis (TIF), has been widely explored. However, few studies have ever simultaneously examined them in the same cohort of patients. Besides, the role of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in TIF remains unclear.MethodsRNA-seq data of kidney biopsies from chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, in both public databases and our assays, were used to analyze transcript levels of IL6 family members. Two TIF mouse models, the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and the ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), were employed to validate the finding. To assess the role of LIF in vivo, short hairpin RNA, lenti-GFP-LIF was used to knockdown LIF receptor (LIFR), overexpress LIF, respectively. LIF-neutralizing antibody was used in therapeutic studies. Whether urinary LIF could be used as a promising predictor for CKD progression was investigated in a prospective observation patient cohort.FindingsAmong IL6 family members, LIF is the most upregulated one in both human and mouse renal fibrotic lesions. The mRNA level of LIF negatively correlated with eGFR with the strongest correlation and the smallest P value. Baseline urinary concentrations of LIF in CKD patients predict the risk of CKD progression to end-stage kidney disease by Kaplan-Meier analysis. In mouse TIF models, knockdown of LIFR alleviated TIF; conversely, overexpressing LIF exacerbated TIF. Most encouragingly, visible efficacy against TIF was observed by administering LIF-neutralizing antibodies to mice. Mechanistically, LIF-LIFR-EGR1 axis and Sonic Hedgehog signaling formed a vicious cycle between fibroblasts and proximal tubular cells to augment LIF expression and promote the pro-fibrotic response via ERK and STAT3 activation.InterpretationThis study discovered that LIF is a noninvasive biomarker for the progression of CKD and a potential therapeutic target of TIF.FundingsStated in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript.

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Leukemia Inhibitory Factor: A Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Cancer.

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