Aim of study: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive cancer with considerable metastatic potential. Various cytokines secreted by tumor cells or cells in the tumor environment can promote the metastasis of CCA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of myricetin on the inhibition of cytokine-induced migration and invasion and the associated cellular mechanisms in human CCA cells.
Materials and methods: CCA KKU-100 cells were treated with a pro-inflammatory cytokine mixture consisting of interleukin-6, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α. The migratory and invasive ability of KKU-100 cells were determined using a wound-healing assay and transwell invasion assay. The effect of myricetin on cytokine-induced STAT3 activation in CCA cells was determined using Western blot analysis. The real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine messenger RNA expression.
Results: Myricetin significantly inhibited cytokine-induced migration and invasion of KKU-100 cells. Detailed molecular analyses revealed that myricetin suppressed the activation of the STAT3 pathway, evidently by a decrease of the active phospho-STAT3 protein expression after myricetin treatment. The cytokine-mediated upregulation of metastasis- and inflammatory-associated genes, which are downstream genes of STAT3 including the intercellular adhesion molecule-1, matrix metalloproteinase-9, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2), were also significantly abolished by myricetin treatment. Moreover, the anti-migratory and anti-invasive activities of a widely prescribed COX inhibitor, indomethacin, were also revealed.
Conclusion: This finding reveals the anti-metastatic effect of myricetin against CCA cells which is mediated partly through suppression of the STAT3 pathway. This compound could be potentially useful as a therapeutic agent against CCA.
Keywords: Cholangiocarcinoma; STAT3; inflammation; metastasis; myricetin.