Cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome that occurs in approximately 50% of patients with cancer. Skeletal muscle atrophy is the primary clinical feature. Interleukin (IL)-17A, a proinflammatory factor, plays an important role in many chronic inflammatory diseases. Here, we describe a novel signaling pathway through which IL-17A induced muscle atrophy. We conducted a retrospective clinical study to investigate the relationship between IL-17A and the skeletal muscle index in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We also investigated the involvement of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway regarding the main features of cachexia by injecting Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells into C57BL/6 mice as a model to replicate cancer-induced cachexia. In vitro, C2C12 myotubes were treated with recombinant IL-17A, anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody, STAT3 inhibitor AG490, and LLC-conditioned medium. Cell viability and aging were also evaluated. We found that in cancer conditions, increased serum levels of IL-17A were related to muscle wasting. JAK2/STAT3 phosphorylation was observed in the muscle of LLC tumor-bearing mice, accompanied by decreased MHC/Myog levels and increased MuRF1/Atrogin-1 levels. Administration of anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody and AG490 slowed muscle atrophy development. Consistent with the in vivo findings, C2C12 myotubes treated with IL-17A and LLC-conditioned medium demonstrated phosphorylated JAK2/STAT3 signaling, resulting in MHC loss and myotube atrophy. IL-17A also inhibited C2C12 cell proliferation, cell cycle breaking, and cellular senescence. Our results identify that phosphorylation of IL-17A/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway appears to be an important component in the pathogenesis of LLC tumor-induced cachexia. Targeted therapy of IL-17A may be a promising approach to reduce skeletal muscle loss in patients with cancer.
Keywords: IL-17A; STAT3; cancer cachexia; inflammation; muscle atrophy.