Interleukin-11 Increases Cell Motility and Up-Regulates Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression in Human Chondrosarcoma Cells

Interleukin-11 (IL-11) was originally identified as the cytokine that could induce the proliferation of human cells. Recent studies have shown that IL-11 plays a critical role in tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Chondrosarcoma is a type of highly malignant tumor with a potent capacity to invade locally and cause distant metastasis. However, the effects of IL-11 on human chondrosarcoma cells are largely unknown. Here, we found that IL-11 increased the migration and expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM)-1 in human chondrosarcoma cells. We also found that human chondrosarcoma tissues had significant expression of the IL-11 which was higher than that in primary chondrocytes. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, and NF-?B pathways were activated by IL-11 treatment, and the IL-11-induced expression of ICAM-1 and migration activity were inhibited by the specific inhibitors and mutant forms of PI3K, Akt, and NF-?B cascades. Taken together, our results indicate that IL-11 enhanced the migration of the chondrosarcoma cells by increasing ICAM-1 expression through the IL-11Ra receptor, PI3K, Akt, and NF-?B signal transduction pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 33533362, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.