Ribavirin attenuates carcinogenesis by downregulating IL-6 and IL-8 in vitro in human lung adenocarcinoma

Gabriele De Rubis; Keshav Raj Paudel; Stewart Yeung; Vipul Agarwal; Philip Michael Hansbro; Brian Gregory George Oliver; Kamal Dua

doi:10.1016/j.prp.2023.155038

Ribavirin attenuates carcinogenesis by downregulating IL-6 and IL-8 in vitro in human lung adenocarcinoma

Pathol Res Pract. 2024 Jan:253:155038. doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.155038. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Authors

Gabriele De Rubis¹, Keshav Raj Paudel², Stewart Yeung¹, Vipul Agarwal³, Philip Michael Hansbro², Brian Gregory George Oliver⁴, Kamal Dua⁵

Affiliations

¹ Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Faculty of Health, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia.
² Centre for Inflammation, Centenary Institute and University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Science, School of Life Sciences, Sydney 2007, Australia.
³ Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁴ School of Life Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia; Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Faculty of Health, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia. Electronic address: kamal.dua@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 38101157
DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.155038

Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, whereby the major contributing factors are cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental pollutants. Despite the availability of numerous treatment options, including chemotherapy, the five-year survival rate is still extremely low, highlighting the urgent need to develop novel, more effective therapeutic strategies. In this context, the repurposing of previously approved drugs is an advantage in terms of time and resources invested. Ribavirin is an antiviral drug approved for the treatment of hepatitis C, which shows potential for repurposing as an anticancer agent. Among the many signaling molecules promoting carcinogenesis, the interleukins (ILs) IL-6 and IL-8 are interesting therapeutic targets as they promote a variety of cancer hallmarks such as cell proliferation, migration, metastasis, and angiogenesis. In the present study, we show that ribavirin significantly downregulates the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in vitro in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. The results of this study shed light on the anticancer mechanisms of ribavirin, providing further proof of its potential as a repurposed drug for the treatment of lung cancer.

Keywords: Drug repurposing; IL-6; IL-8; Interleukins; Lung cancer; Ribavirin.

MeSH terms

Adenocarcinoma of Lung* / drug therapy
Carcinogenesis
Humans
Interleukin-6
Interleukin-8
Lung Neoplasms* / pathology
Ribavirin / pharmacology
Ribavirin / therapeutic use

Substances

Ribavirin
Interleukin-6
Interleukin-8