Chronic inflammation has been proposed as an etiological and progression factor in prostate cancer. In this study, we used a dissociated prostate tissue recombination system to interrogate the role of interleukin 6 (IL6) and the related cytokine oncostatin-M (OSM) in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. We identified that prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions induced by PTEN loss of function (PTEN(LOF)) progress to invasive adenocarcinoma following paracrine expression of either cytokine. Increased expression of OSM was also able to drive progression of benign human epithelium when combined with constitutively activated AKT. Malignant progression in the mouse was associated with invasion into the surrounding mesenchyme and increased activation of STAT3 in PTEN(LOF) grafts expressing IL6 or OSM. Collectively, our work indicates that pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL6 or OSM could activate pathways associated with prostate cancer progression and synergize with cell-autonomous oncogenic events to promote aggressive malignancy.
Implications: Increased expression of IL6 or OSM synergizes with loss of PTEN to promote invasive prostate cancer. VISUAL OVERVIEW: http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2013/09/02/1541-7786.MCR-13-0238/F1.large.jpg.