The Expression Levels of IL-4/IL-13/STAT6 Signaling Pathway Genes and SOCS3 Could Help to Differentiate the Histopathological Subtypes of Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

• DOI: 10.1007/s40291-018-0355-7
• Publication Date: 2018-08-13T07:12:07Z
• Authors: Dorota Pastuszak-...; Daria Domańska-Se...; Adam Antczak; Jacek Kordiak; Paweł Górski; Karolina H. Czarn...; Monika Migdalska-Sęk; Ewa Nawrot; Justyna M. Kiszał...; Ewa Brzeziańska-L...
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Interleukin-13; Lung Neoplasms; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; 03 medical and health sciences; Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Cell Line, Tumor; Humans; Female; Original Research Article; Interleukin-4; Neoplasm Grading; STAT6 Transcription Factor; Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Signal Transduction

The interleukin (IL)-4/IL-13/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 6 signaling pathway and the SOCS3 gene, one of its main regulators, constitute an important link between the inflammation process in the epithelial cells and inflammatory-related tumorigenesis. The present study is the first to evaluate IL-4, IL-13, STAT6, and SOCS3 mRNA expression in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) histopathological subtypes.Gene expression levels were assessed using TaqMan® probes by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) in lung tumor samples and unchanged lung tissue samples.Increased expression of IL-4, IL-13, and STAT6 was observed in all histopathological NSCLC subtypes (squamous cell carcinoma [SCC], adenocarcinoma [AC], and large cell carcinoma [LCC]). Significantly higher expression of IL-13 and STAT6 (p = 0.019 and p = 0.008, respectively) was found in SCC than in LCC. No statistically significant differences were found for IL-4. Significantly higher SOCS3 expression was found in LCC than in AC (p = 0.027). A negative correlation (rho = -0.519) was observed for the STAT6 and SOCS3 genes in SCC (p = 0.005). No associations were found between gene expression and tumor staging (post-operative Tumor Node Metastasis [pTNM], American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC]), patients' age, sex, or history of smoking.As the number of LCC cases in our study was quite low, the statistically significant results obtained should be confirmed in a larger group of patients, particularly as the relationships identified between increased IL-4, IL-13, and STAT6 mRNA expression and decreased SOCS3 expression suggest that these genes may serve as potential diagnostic markers for differentiating between NSCLC histopathological subtypes.