Resistin Promotes Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Metastasis through TLR4-Mediated Activation of p38 MAPK/NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Abstract

NPC is a type of malignant tumor with a high risk of local invasion and early distant metastasis. Resistin is an inflammatory cytokine that is predominantly produced from the immunocytes in humans. Accumulating evidence has suggested a clinical association of circulating resistin with the risk of tumorigenesis and a relationship between blood resistin levels and the risk of cancer metastasis. In this study, we explored the blood levels and the role of resistin in NPC. High resistin levels in NPC patients were positively associated with lymph node metastasis, and resistin promoted the migration and invasion of NPC cells in vitro. These findings were also replicated in a mouse model of NPC tumor metastasis. We identified TLR4 as a functional receptor in mediating the pro-migratory effects of resistin in NPC cells. Furthermore, p38 MAPK and NF-κB were intracellular effectors that mediated resistin-induced EMT. Taken together, our results suggest that resistin promotes NPC metastasis by activating the TLR4/p38 MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways.

TWEAK Knockdown Alleviates Post-Cardiac Arrest Brain Injury via the p38 MAPK/NF-κB Pathway

“…It has been reported that p38 MAPK pathway modulates varieties of important cellular physiological/pathological processes such as cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response [19,20]. Protein interaction network analysis revealed that the eukaryotic transcription factor NF-κB, which is involved in cellular functions such as inflammation, immune response, cell proliferation and apoptosis, interacted with the p38 protein [21]. Moreover, p38 MAPK acts upstream of the NF-κB signaling pathway in neuropsychiatric diseases [22].…”