Suppression of colitis-associated carcinogenesis through modulation of IL-6/STAT3 pathway by balsalazide and VSL#3

  • J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016 Aug;31(8):1453-61. doi: 10.1111/jgh.13280.
Eun-Ju Do  1 ,  Sung Wook Hwang  2 ,  Sang-Yeob Kim  1  3 ,  Yeon-Mi Ryu  1 ,  Eun A Cho  1 ,  Eun-Ju Chung  2 ,  Sunha Park  1 ,  Hyo Jeong Lee  4 ,  Jeong-Sik Byeon  2 ,  Byong Duk Ye  2 ,  Dong-Hoon Yang  2 ,  Sang Hyoung Park  2 ,  Suk-Kyun Yang  2 ,  Jin-Ho Kim  2 ,  Seung-Jae Myung  1  2
Affiliations
  • 1. Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2. Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3. Department of Convergence Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4. Health Screening & Promotion Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
PMID: 26711554 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.13280
Abstract

Background and aim: Recent studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory agent balsalazide (BSZ) and probiotic agent VSL#3 have potential therapeutic benefits for the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, their effectiveness in preventing colitis-associated carcinogenesis (CAC) remains uncertain. The aim of the present study was to determine the chemopreventive effects of BSZ and VSL#3 in the murine azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) model.

Methods: C57B/L6J mice were randomly divided into four groups: CAC group, BSZ group, VSL#3 group, and BSZ + VSL#3 group. After 2 weeks, the AOM/DSS model was induced by AOM injection followed by two cycles of 2% DSS.

Results: During first and second cycles of DSS, the number of F4/80-positive macrophages was significantly lower in the drug-treated groups compared with the CAC group (P < 0.05). At the endpoint, the total numbers of tumors in the drug-treated groups were significantly low compared with the CAC group (P < 0.05), and the drug-treated groups had significantly lower F4/80-positive macrophages in the tumor stroma (P < 0.01). The protein production of macrophage inflammatory protein 1 beta, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 in the colon tissues decreased in concordance with the plasma concentrations of the cytokines (P < 0.05). The drug-treated groups revealed lower expression of p-STAT3 compared with the CAC group. In addition, BCL2 decreased, and Bax increased markedly in the BSZ + VSL#3 group.

Conclusions: These results revealed that BSZ and VSL#3 have chemopreventive effects against CAC through IL-6/STAT3 suppression. BSZ and VSL#3 could be suitable options for chemoprevention of colorectal Cancer.

Keywords
IL-6; STAT3; VSL#3; balsalazide; colitis-associated carcinogenesis.
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