Herein, we show that the NLRP3 inflammasome was over-expressed in human HNSCC tissues and that the IL-1β concentration was increased in the peripheral blood of HNSCC patients.
IL-8 silencing by siRNA reduced IL-1β expression in HNSCC cells, suggesting that IL-8 as a main inflammatory mediator improved IL-1β expression in HNSCC.
Altogether, blockade of the IL-1 pathway using anakinra overcame erlotinib resistance in HNSCC xenografts and may represent a novel strategy to overcome EGFR inhibitor resistance for treatment of HNSCC patients.
Analysis of MDC migration and cytokine secretion revealed that HNSCC triggers the production of tumor-promoting and immunosuppressive cytokines IL-1 and IL-10 and results in an increased MDC migration activity.
We studied the expression of IL-1 (Interleukin 1), IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, GM-CSF (granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor), TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and IFN-gamma (Interferon gamma) in tumor specimens and adjacent mucosa from 12 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) by reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).