Interleukin-33 acts as a pro-inflammatory cytokine and modulates its receptor gene expression in highly metastatic human pancreatic carcinoma cells.

Human pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal of all solid tissue malignancies. Pancreatic inflammation plays a key role in the development of pancreatic malignancy mediated by pro-inflammatory signalling cascades. Despite advances in surgery and radiation oncology, no significant improvements in overall survival have yet been achieved. Recent investigations suggest a crucial role of interleukin-33 (IL-33), a novel IL-1 family cytokine, in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis and possibly pancreatic cancer. However, the precise role of IL-33 in pancreatic carcinogenesis is poorly understood. As IL-33 mediates its effects via the heterodimeric ST2L/IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP) receptor complex, we investigated the influence of IL-33 alone, IL-33 combined with IL-1 and other inflammatory cytokines on IL-33 receptor/ligand mRNA expression and production of tumorigenic factors in the highly metastatic human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line Colo357. Our results demonstrated that IL-1 and IL-3 up-regulated IL-33 mRNA while IL-12 showed the opposite effect. We also detected a counter-regulatory effect of IL-33 and IL-1 on the mRNA expression of soluble IL-33 receptor ST2 and membrane-bound receptor ST2L. Furthermore, IL-33 and IL-1 acted synergistically in up-regulating secretion of pro-inflammatory IL-6. IL-33 alone stimulated spontaneous release of pro-angiogenic IL-8, but it did not affect IL-1-induced IL-8 secretion. IL-33/IL-1 effects on cytokine production appear to be mediated via NF-κB activation. These data argue for the pro-inflammatory role of IL-33 in Colo357 cells implying that IL-33 might act as a crucial mediator in inflammation-associated pancreatic carcinogenesis.