Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 upregulates interleukin-8 expression at the level of transcription in human melanoma cells.

Many melanoma cells continuously produce interleukin-8 (IL-8). The involvement of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in the constant production of IL-8 in melanoma cells was examined. The level of IL-8 production correlated well with that of the phosphorylated (activated) STAT3 in six human melanoma cell lines. Introduction of the constitutively activated form of STAT3 (STAT3-C) into WM35 melanoma cells, that show low levels of IL-8 and phosphorylated STAT3, enhanced IL-8 production. Knockdown of STAT3 suppressed IL-8 production in WM1205Lu cells that contain a high level of IL-8 accompanied by STAT3 phosphorylation. Introduction of STAT3-C markedly increased the luciferase activity in WM1205Lu cells transfected with reporter vectors linked to the 5'-flanking region of the IL-8 gene from -546 to +44 base pair (bp) and from -272 to +44 bp, but not in cells expressing reporter plasmids from -133 to +44 bp and from -98 to +44 bp. These results indicate that the upregulation of IL-8 production is caused by constitutive STAT3 activation at the level of gene transcription in melanoma cells.