IL-6/NOS2 inflammatory signals regulate MMP-9 and MMP-2 activity and disease outcome in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

The role of nitric oxide (NO)· in the development of the metastatic properties of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is not fully understood. Previous studies proposed that interleukin-6 (IL-6) would act as regulator of matrix metalloprotease activation in NPC. Recently, we showed that (NO)· was a critical mediator of tumor growth in patients. The aim of this study was to determine the implication of IL-6 in the progression of NPC pathology via metalloprotease (MMP) activation and their possible correlation with (NO)· production. We observed a significant increase in IL-6 and nitrite (NO2 −) synthesis in patients (n = 17) as well as a strong expression of IL-6 and nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) in the analyzed tumors (n = 8). In patients’ plasma, a negative correlation associated IL-6 with circulating nitrites (r = −0.33). A negative correlation associated the H-scores of these signals in the tumors (r = −0.47). In patients’ plasma, nitrite synthesis was positively associated with MMP-9 activation (r = 0.45), pro-MMP-2 expression (r = 0.37), and negatively correlated with MMP-2 activation (r = −0.51). High nitrite levels was associated with better recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.02). Overall, our results suggest that the IL-6/NOS2 inflammatory signals are involved in the regulation of MMP-9- and MMP-2-dependent metastatic activity and that high circulating nitrite levels in NPC patients may constitute a prognostic predictor for survival.