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STAT3 inhibitor stattic enhances radiosensitivity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma - Tumor Biology

  • ️Ma, Jianxin
  • ️Wed Dec 10 2014

Abstract

The radioresistance of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains an obstacle for the effective radiotherapy of ESCC. This study aimed to investigate the radiosensitization of ESCC by signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibitor stattic. ECA109, TE13, and KYSE150 cell lines were exposed to hypoxia and treated with stattic or radiation, alone or in combination. Cell proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis, and double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) were examined. In addition, ECA109 cells were xenografted into nude mice and treated with radiation and/or stattic. The levels of STAT3, p-STAT3, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ESCC cells and xenografts were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. Our results showed that stattic efficiently radiosensitized ESCC cells and xenografts, especially under hypoxia. Moreover, stattic inhibited STAT3 activation and downregulated HIF-1α and VEGF expression. In conclusion, stattic confers radiosensitivity in ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo and is a potential adjuvant for the radiotherapy of ESCC in the clinical setting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiotherapy, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan, China

    Qu Zhang, Desheng Hu, Xiaoyi Zhou & Chuangying Xiao

  2. Department of Radiotherapy, The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang Hospital Affiliated to Bengbu Medical College, Xingfu Road 161, Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China

    Qu Zhang, Jinfeng Wang, Yahui Kang, Ruifang She, Zhongming Wang, Defan Li, Guanhong Huang, Zhaoming Ma & Jianxin Ma

  3. Department of Radiotherapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

    Chi Zhang, Xi Yang & Xinchen Sun

  4. Department of Radiotherapy, People’s Hospital of Jiangyin, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China

    Jia He & Weidong Mao

  5. Department of Radiotherapy, People’s Hospital of Taizhou, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, China

    Qing Guo

Authors

  1. Qu Zhang

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  2. Chi Zhang

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  3. Jia He

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  4. Qing Guo

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  5. Desheng Hu

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  6. Xi Yang

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  7. Jinfeng Wang

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  8. Yahui Kang

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  9. Ruifang She

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  10. Zhongming Wang

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  11. Defan Li

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  12. Guanhong Huang

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  13. Zhaoming Ma

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  14. Weidong Mao

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  15. Xiaoyi Zhou

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  16. Chuangying Xiao

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  17. Xinchen Sun

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  18. Jianxin Ma

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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianxin Ma.

Additional information

Qu Zhang, Chi Zhang, and Jia He contributed equally

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Cite this article

Zhang, Q., Zhang, C., He, J. et al. STAT3 inhibitor stattic enhances radiosensitivity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Tumor Biol. 36, 2135–2142 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2823-y

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  • Received: 08 September 2014

  • Accepted: 06 November 2014

  • Published: 10 December 2014

  • Issue Date: March 2015

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2823-y

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