TY - JOUR TI - The chemokine CXCL13 in lung cancers associated with environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution AU - Wang, Gui-Zhen AU - Cheng, Xin AU - Zhou, Bo AU - Wen, Zhe-Sheng AU - Huang, Yun-Chao AU - Chen, Hao-Bin AU - Li, Gao-Feng AU - Huang, Zhi-Liang AU - Zhou, Yong-Chun AU - Feng, Lin AU - Wei, Ming-Ming AU - Qu, Li-Wei AU - Cao, Yi AU - Zhou, Guang-Biao A2 - Barbie, David VL - 4 PY - 2015 DA - 2015/11/13 SP - e09419 C1 - eLife 2015;4:e09419 DO - 10.7554/eLife.09419 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09419 AB - More than 90% of lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoke and air pollution, with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as key carcinogens. In Xuanwei City of Yunnan Province, the lung cancer incidence is among the highest in China, attributed to smoky coal combustion-generated PAH pollution. Here, we screened for abnormal inflammatory factors in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) from Xuanwei and control regions (CR) where smoky coal was not used, and found that a chemokine CXCL13 was overexpressed in 63/70 (90%) of Xuanwei NSCLCs and 44/71 (62%) of smoker and 27/60 (45%) of non-smoker CR patients. CXCL13 overexpression was associated with the region Xuanwei and cigarette smoke. The key carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) induced CXCL13 production in lung epithelial cells and in mice prior to development of detectable lung cancer. Deficiency in Cxcl13 or its receptor, Cxcr5, significantly attenuated BaP-induced lung cancer in mice, demonstrating CXCL13’s critical role in PAH-induced lung carcinogenesis. KW - CXCL13 KW - environmental pollutant KW - lung cancer JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -