Normal human thyroid cells, BCPAP, and TPC-1 thyroid tumor cell lines display different profile in both basal and TNF-α-induced CXCL8 secretion

CXCL8 is secreted by both normal human thyrocytes (NHT) and thyroid cancer cell lines. CXCL8 displays several tumor-promoting effects and recent evidences indicate that its concentrations within the tumor microenvironment can impact the clinical course of the malignancy. Aim of this study was to compare the basal secretion of CXCL8 among NHT and thyroid cancer cell lines (TPC-1 and BCPAP), and to assess the specific cell response to TNF-alpha in terms of CXCL8 secretion. NHT primary cultures, TPC-1 and BCPAP cell lines were cultured with or without TNF-alpha (0, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 ng/ml). CXCL8 levels were measured in the cell supernatants after 24 h. In basal condition, significant differences in the mean levels of CXCL8 were observed among the three cell types: NHT (110.5 +/- 56.2 pg/ml), TPC1 (467.4 +/- 43.2 pg/ml), and BCPAP (1731.8 +/- 493.3 pg/ml), (F = 35.06; p < 0.0001). TNF-alpha significantly and in a dose-response manner induced CXCL8 secretion in NHT (F = 25.53; p < 0.00001), TPC-1 (F = 13.38; p < 0.0001), and BCPAP (F = 9.88; p < 0.001) cells. The magnitude of the TNF-alpha effect (fold-increase vs. basal level of CXCL8) differed significantly among the three cell types (F = 10.47; p < 0.0001). BCPAP were identified as the cells showing the highest basal secretion of CXCL8 and the less responsive to TNF-alpha. NHT, TPC-1, and BCPAP display significant differences in the secretion of both basal and TNF-alpha-induced CXCL8 secretion. These results indicate that the mechanisms regulating the secretion of CXCL8 differ in tumor cells harboring different genetic alterations suggesting that specific strategies aimed at inhibiting CXCL8 secretion will be required.