Background: Melanoma, an extremely malignant form of cancer, poses a significant health risk. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM), blood vessels formed by tumor cells instead of endothelial cells, is an important factor for the rapid progression of melanoma. Interleukin (IL)-33 is an inflammatory factor commonly found in the tumor microenvironment and plays an important role in the progression of many tumors. IL-33 acts on immune cells and tumor cells through its receptor ST2. This study hypothesized that IL-33 directly affects the progression of melanoma.
Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the effect of IL-33 on VM of melanoma and its potential mechanism of action.
Methods: The expression of ST2 was evaluated in 66 cases of melanoma collected from human patients, and the differences were analyzed. In vitro experiments were conducted to study the effects of the IL-33/ST2 axis on cell migration and invasion and to elucidate possible mechanisms.
Results: ST2 expression is associated with that of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and VM in melanoma of patients. IL-33 increases the abilities of proliferation, migration and invasion of melanoma cells and VM tube formation through ST2. IL-33 induces the production of MMP-2/9 via ERK1/2 phosphorylation.
Conclusion: IL-33 can directly act on melanoma cells and promote its development.
Keywords: Interleukin-33; Melanoma; Metastasis; ST2 interleukin receptor; Vasculogenic mimicry.
© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.