IL-1RT1 signaling antagonizes IL-11 induced STAT3 dependent cardiac and antral stomach tumor development through myeloid cell enrichment

IL-1 is key driver of gastric tumorigenesis and is a downstream target of IL-11 signaling. Recently, IL-1 cytokines, particularly IL-1β, have been flagged as therapeutic targets for gastric cancer treatment. Here, we assess the requirement for IL-1 signaling in gastric tumorigenesis. gp130(757FF) xIL-1RT1(−/−) mice were generated to determine the pathological consequence of ablated IL-1 signaling in the IL-11 dependent gp130(757FF) mouse model of gastric tumorigenesis. Gastric lesions in gp130(757FF) xIL-1RT1(−/−) mice were increased in incidence and size compared to gp130(757FF) mice. Proximal gastric lesions originated from the cardiac region and were associated with elevated STAT3 activation, loss of specialized gastric cells and a modulated immune response including increased expression of TNF-α and MDSC associated genes. Administration of IL-11 to IL-1RT1(−/−) mice showed similar changes to gp130(757FF) xIL-1RT1(−/−) mice. Spleens from IL-11 treated wildtype mice showed an enrichment of MDSC and gp130(757FF) xIL-1RT1(−/−) mice had increased MDSCs in the stomach compared to gp130(757FF) mice. Furthermore, crossing TNF-α(−/−) to gp130(757FF) mice resulted in reduced lesion size. We conclude that IL-1 signaling antagonizes IL-11/STAT3 mediated pathology and the genetic deletion of IL-1RT1 results in increased tumor burden. We provide evidence that a likely mechanism is due to IL-11/STAT3 dependent enrichment of MDSCs.