[HTML][HTML] Obesity exacerbates colitis-associated cancer via IL-6-regulated macrophage polarisation and CCL-20/CCR-6-mediated lymphocyte recruitment

CM Wunderlich, PJ Ackermann, AL Ostermann… - Nature …, 2018 - nature.com
CM Wunderlich, PJ Ackermann, AL Ostermann, P Adams-Quack, MC Vogt, ML Tran…
Nature communications, 2018nature.com
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide in which the vast
majority of cases exhibit little genetic risk but are associated with a sedentary lifestyle and
obesity. Although the mechanisms underlying CRC and colitis-associated colorectal cancer
(CAC) remain unclear, we hypothesised that obesity-induced inflammation predisposes to
CAC development. Here, we show that diet-induced obesity accelerates chemically-induced
CAC in mice via increased inflammation and immune cell recruitment. Obesity-induced …
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide in which the vast majority of cases exhibit little genetic risk but are associated with a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Although the mechanisms underlying CRC and colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) remain unclear, we hypothesised that obesity-induced inflammation predisposes to CAC development. Here, we show that diet-induced obesity accelerates chemically-induced CAC in mice via increased inflammation and immune cell recruitment. Obesity-induced interleukin-6 (IL-6) shifts macrophage polarisation towards tumour-promoting macrophages that produce the chemokine CC-chemokine-ligand-20 (CCL-20) in the CAC microenvironment. CCL-20 promotes CAC progression by recruiting CC-chemokine-receptor-6 (CCR-6)-expressing B cells and γδ T cells via chemotaxis. Compromised cell recruitment as well as inhibition of B and γδ T cells protects against CAC progression. Collectively, our data reveal a function for IL-6 in the CAC microenvironment via lymphocyte recruitment through the CCL-20/CCR-6 axis, thereby implicating a potential therapeutic intervention for human patients.
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