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The chemokine CXCL13 in lung cancers associated with environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution

  1. Gui-Zhen Wang
  2. Xin Cheng
  3. Bo Zhou
  4. Zhe-Sheng Wen
  5. Yun-Chao Huang
  6. Hao-Bin Chen
  7. Gao-Feng Li
  8. Zhi-Liang Huang
  9. Yong-Chun Zhou
  10. Lin Feng
  11. Ming-Ming Wei
  12. Li-Wei Qu
  13. Yi Cao
  14. Guang-Biao Zhou  Is a corresponding author
  1. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
  2. Sun Yat-Sen University, China
  3. Kunming Medical University, China
  4. The First People's Hospital of Qujing, China
  5. The People's Liberation Army General Hospital, China
  6. Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Research Article
  • Cited 25
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Cite this article as: eLife 2015;4:e09419 doi: 10.7554/eLife.09419

Abstract

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 bezo(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, abrogated BaP-induced lung cancer in mice, demonstrating CXCL13's critical role in PAH-induced lung carcinogenesis.

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Author details

  1. Gui-Zhen Wang

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  2. Xin Cheng

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  3. Bo Zhou

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  4. Zhe-Sheng Wen

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  5. Yun-Chao Huang

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yunnan Tumor Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  6. Hao-Bin Chen

    Department of Pathology, The First People's Hospital of Qujing, Qujing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  7. Gao-Feng Li

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yunnan Tumor Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  8. Zhi-Liang Huang

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  9. Yong-Chun Zhou

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yunnan Tumor Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  10. Lin Feng

    Department of Pathology, The People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  11. Ming-Ming Wei

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  12. Li-Wei Qu

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  13. Yi Cao

    Laboratory of Molecular and Experimental Pathology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  14. Guang-Biao Zhou

    State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
    For correspondence
    gbzhou@ioz.ac.cn
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: Animal studies were conducted according to protocols approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the approval ID of AEC2010070202.

Human subjects: The study was approved by the local research ethics committees of all participating sites; all lung cancer samples were collected with informed consent.

Reviewing Editor

  1. David Barbie, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States

Publication history

  1. Received: June 13, 2015
  2. Accepted: November 4, 2015
  3. Accepted Manuscript published: November 13, 2015 (version 1)
  4. Version of Record published: February 9, 2016 (version 2)

Copyright

© 2015, Wang et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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