[HTML][HTML] B cells promote tumor progression via STAT3 regulated-angiogenesis

C Yang, H Lee, S Pal, V Jove, J Deng, W Zhang… - PloS one, 2013 - journals.plos.org
C Yang, H Lee, S Pal, V Jove, J Deng, W Zhang, DSB Hoon, M Wakabayashi, S Forman…
PloS one, 2013journals.plos.org
The role of B cells in cancer and the underlying mechanisms remain to be further explored.
Here, we show that tumor-associated B cells with activated STAT3 contribute to tumor
development by promoting tumor angiogenesis. B cells with or without Stat3 have opposite
effects on tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis in both B16 melanoma and Lewis Lung
Cancer mouse models. Ex vivo angiogenesis assays show that B cell-mediated tumor
angiogenesis is mainly dependent on the induction of pro-angiogenic gene expression …
The role of B cells in cancer and the underlying mechanisms remain to be further explored. Here, we show that tumor-associated B cells with activated STAT3 contribute to tumor development by promoting tumor angiogenesis. B cells with or without Stat3 have opposite effects on tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis in both B16 melanoma and Lewis Lung Cancer mouse models. Ex vivo angiogenesis assays show that B cell-mediated tumor angiogenesis is mainly dependent on the induction of pro-angiogenic gene expression, which requires Stat3 signaling in B cells. Furthermore, B cells with activated STAT3 are mainly found in or near tumor vasculature and correlate significantly with overall STAT3 activity in human tumors. Moreover, the density of B cells in human tumor tissues correlates significantly with expression levels of several STAT3-downstream pro-angiogenic genes, as well as the degree of tumor angiogenesis. Together, these findings define a novel role of B cells in promoting tumor progression through angiogenesis and identify STAT3 in B cells as potential therapeutic target for anti-angiogenesis therapy.
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