KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of targeting IL-8 in BC TME to disrupt autophagy and CSC maintenance.
- Researchers noticed that the Anti-IL-8 antibody treatment reduces tumor growth, and CSC populations, promising BC TME intervention.
Breast cancer (BC) tumor microenvironment (TME) represents a promising avenue for immunotherapeutic intervention due to its critical role in tumorigenesis, tumor survival, invasion, and treatment resistance. Autophagy and the maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are integral processes within the TME, contributing significantly to cancer progression.
Seham Abou Shousha and the team aimed to assess the impact of particular interest by overexpression of interleukin-8 (IL-8), an angiogenic chemokine, within the BC TME. Elevated IL-8 levels have been linked to the activation of oncogenic signaling pathways, fostering increased tumor growth, metastasis, and dismal prognosis.
Researchers performed an inclusive analysis utilizing IL-8 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-supplemented tumor tissue culture systems from 15 females undergoing mastectomy to evaluate the expression of LC3B as a specific biomarker of autophagy and CD44 and CD24 as cell surface markers of breast CSCs using an immunofluorescence technique.
Anti-IL-8 mAb demonstrated a significant reduction in LC3B levels in cultured breast tumor tissues compared to a non-significant decrease in normal breast tissues. Additionally, anti-IL-8 mAb significantly decreased CD44 expression in both breast tumors and normal tissues. However, it resulted in a non-significant decrease in CD24 expression in breast tumor tissue culture and a significant decrease in its expression in corresponding normal tissues.
The study concluded that the anti-IL-8 mAb shows promising immunotherapeutic potential by targeting autophagy and CSC maintenance within the BC TME.
The study received no funds.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38552109/
Abou Shousha S, Medhat E, Baheeg S, et al. (2024). “Anti-IL-8 monoclonal antibodies inhibits the autophagic activity and cancer stem cells maintenance within breast cancer tumor microenvironment.” Breast Dis. 2024;43(1):37-49. doi: 10.3233/BD-230052. PMID: 38552109; PMCID: PMC10977415.
