The depletion of interleukin-8 causes cell cycle arrest and increases the efficacy of docetaxel in breast cancer cells.

IL-8 is a multi-functional pro-inflammatory chemokine, which is highly expressed in cancers, such as ER-negative breast cancer. The present study demonstrates the pervasive role of IL-8 in the malignant progression of ER-negative breast cancer. IL-8 siRNA inhibited proliferation and delayed the G1 to S cell cycle progression in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells. IL-8 silencing resulted in the upregulation of the CDK inhibitor p27, the downregulation of cyclin D1, and the reduction of phosphorylated-Akt and NF-κB activities. IL-8 depletion also increased the chemosensitivity to docetaxel. These results indicate a role for IL-8 in promoting tumor cell survival and resistance to docetaxel and highlight the potential therapeutic significance of IL-8 depletion in ER-negative breast cancer patients.