Paracrine production of IL-6 promotes a hypercoagulable state in pancreatic cancer

Venous thromboembolism is the most common complication and the secondary cause of death in pancreatic cancer. Moreover, the hypercoagulable state induces microcirculation dysfunction, acidosis and hypoxia, and further enhances tumor immune evasion, tumor growth and metastasis. Numerous studies have revealed that patients with malignant tumors have high levels of IL-6, which stimulates hepatocytes to synthesize thrombopoietin, causing an increase in platelets. This study found that the concentration of IL-6 in pancreatic cancer patient sera was higher than that in healthy donors, while pancreatic cancer cells had low expression levels of IL-6, which was different from other types of cancer. This contradictory result prompted us to uncover the underlying mechanism. Our data revealed that pancreatic cancer enhanced IL-6 production in fibroblasts via the Jagged/Notch axis, while IL-6 further elevated Jagged-1/2 expression in a paracrine positive feedback loop in pancreatic cancer. Inhibition experiments and RNAi studies demonstrated that IL-6-induced Jagged-1/2 production in pancreatic cancer depended on STAT3 and that Jagged-1/2 enhanced IL-6 mRNA expression in HSFs through the NF-kB pathway. Finally, the animal study showed that knockdown of Jagged-1/2 or blockade of the Jagged/Notch pathway by Nirogacestat could alleviate pancreatic cancer-induced hypercoagulability. Accordingly, our findings clarified the key role of the Jagged/ Notch/IL-6/STAT3 feedback loop in the development of a hypercoagulable state in pancreatic cancer, which also provides new therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer patients who suffer from hypercoagulability.

Automated summary

In pancreatic cancer patients, high levels of the cytokine IL-6 were found in the blood serum, while pancreatic cancer cells themselves exhibited low expression of IL-6. The study uncovered the key role of the Jagged/Notch/IL-6/STAT3 positive feedback loop in the development of a hypercoagulable state in pancreatic cancer.