S100A4 promotes colon inflammation and colitis-associated colon tumorigenesis

S100A4 plays important roles in tumor development and metastasis, but its role in regulating inflammation and colitis-associated tumorigenesis has not been well characterized. Here, we report that S100A4 expression was increased in azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colorectal cancer (CRC) in mice. After AOM/DSS treatment, both S100A4-TK mice with the selective depletion of S100A4-expressing cells and S100A4-deficient (S100A4(−/−)) mice developed fewer and smaller tumors than wild-type (WT) control littermates. Furthermore, S100A4(−/−) mice were resistant to DSS-induced colitis, reduced infiltration of macrophages, and the diminished production of proinflammatory cytokines. Further studies revealed that reduced colon inflammation and colorectal tumor development in S100A4(−/−) mice were partly due to the dampening of nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation in macrophages. Furthermore, the administration of a neutralizing S100A4 antibody to WT mice significantly decreased AOM/DSS-induced colon inflammation and tumorigenesis. These results indicate that S100A4 amplifies an inflammatory microenvironment that promotes colon tumorigenesis and provides a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and prevention of colitis-associated colorectal carcinogenesis.