scholarly journals Tumor Microenvironment and Cell Fusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erhui Jiang ◽  
Tinglin Yan ◽  
Zhi Xu ◽  
Zhengjun Shang
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Fusion ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Tumor Stem Cell ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Microenvironmental Factors ◽  
Cell Cell

Cell fusion is a highly regulated biological process that occurs under both physiological and pathological conditions. The cellular and extracellular environment is critical for the induction of the cell–cell fusion. Aberrant cell fusion is initiated during tumor progression. Tumor microenvironment is a complex dynamic system formed by the interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding cells. Cell–cell fusion mediates direct interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding cells and is associated with tumor initiation and progression. Various microenvironmental factors affect cell fusion in tumor microenvironment and generate hybrids that acquire genomes of both parental cells and exhibit novel characteristics, such as tumor stem cell-like properties, radioresistance, drug resistance, immune evasion, and enhanced migration and invasion abilities, which are closely related to the initiation, invasion, and metastasis of tumor. The phenotypic characteristics of hybrids are based on the phenotypes of parental cells, and the fusion of tumor cells with diverse types of microenvironmental fusogenic cells is concomitant with phenotypic heterogeneity. This review highlights the types of fusogenic cells in tumor microenvironment that can fuse with tumor cells and their specific significance and summarizes the various microenvironmental factors affecting tumor cell fusion. This review may be used as a reference to develop strategies for future research on tumor cell fusion and the exploration of cell fusion-based antitumor therapies.

scholarly journals Hypoxia Contributes to Poor Prognosis in Primary IDH-wt GBM by Inducing Tumor Cells MES-Like Transformation Trend and Inhibiting Immune Cells Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zujian Xiong ◽  
Hongwei Liu ◽  
Chenqi He ◽  
Xuejun Li
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Cell Cell

AimsTo reveal the influence of hypoxia on tumor cells and immune cells in primary IDH-wt glioblastoma patients.MethodsSingle-cell RNA-seq data and bulk RNA-seq data were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases, respectively. Hypoxia status and subtypes of tumor cells were identified based on single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA). Regulon network analysis of different subtypes under different conditions was conducted by SCENIC. Within tumor microenvironment, biological process activity analysis and cell–cell communication network were conducted to uncover the inner links between each cell subtype under different hypoxia status.ResultsDifferent types of tumor cell in GBM possessed different hypoxia status, and MES-like subtype was under a more severe hypoxia condition than other subtypes. Hypoxia also induced MES-like signature gene expression within each tumor cell, which could stimulate tumor cell proliferation and invasion by regulating cell–cell communication. Additionally, hypoxia inhibited immune cell activity in the tumor microenvironment by inducing macrophage phenotype polarization and upregulating immune-inhibited cell–cell interaction within immune cells. Interactions between tumor cells and immune cells under hypoxia status also promoted tumor progression.ConclusionsHypoxia was a poor prognostic marker for primary IDH-wt GBM patients. Meanwhile, it could induce tumor cells’ MES-like transformation trend and inhibit antitumor function of immune cells.

scholarly journals A Nuclear-Directed Ribonuclease Variant Targets Cancer Stem Cells and Inhibits Migration and Invasion of Breast Cancer Cells

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4350
Author(s):  
Jessica Castro ◽  
Giusy Tornillo ◽  
Gerardo Ceada ◽  
Beatriz Ramos-Neble ◽  
Marlon Bravo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Tumor Cell Lines

Despite the significant advances in cancer research made in recent years, this disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In part, this is due to the fact that after therapy, a subpopulation of self-renewing tumor cells can survive and promote cancer relapse, resistance to therapies and metastasis. Targeting these cancer stem cells (CSCs) is therefore essential to improve the clinical outcome of cancer patients. In this sense, multi-targeted drugs may be promising agents targeting CSC-associated multifocal effects. We have previously constructed different human pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase) variants that are cytotoxic for tumor cells due to a non-classical nuclear localization signal introduced in their sequence. These cytotoxic RNases affect the expression of multiple genes involved in deregulated metabolic and signaling pathways in cancer cells and are highly cytotoxic for multidrug-resistant tumor cell lines. Here, we show that these cytotoxic nuclear-directed RNases are highly selective for tumor cell lines grown in 3D, inhibit CSCs’ development and diminish the self-renewal capacity of the CSCs population. Moreover, these human RNase variants reduce the migration and invasiveness of highly invasive breast cancer cells and downregulate N-cadherin expression.

scholarly journals Breast tumor cell-specific knockout of Twist1 inhibits cancer cell plasticity, dissemination, and lung metastasis in mice

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (43) ◽  
pp. 11494-11499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yixiang Xu ◽  
Dong-Kee Lee ◽  
Zhen Feng ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Wen Bu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Lung Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Cell Plasticity ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Twist1 is an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factor (TF) that promotes cell migration and invasion. To determine the intrinsic role of Twist1 in EMT and breast cancer initiation, growth, and metastasis, we developed mouse models with an oncogene-induced mammary tumor containing wild-type (WT) Twist1 or tumor cell-specific Twist1 knockout (Twist1TKO). Twist1 knockout showed no effects on tumor initiation and growth. In both models with early-stage tumor cells, Twist1, and mesenchymal markers were not expressed, and lung metastasis was absent. Twist1 expression was detected in ∼6% of the advanced WT tumor cells. Most of these Twist1+ cells coexpressed several other EMT-inducing TFs (Snail, Slug, Zeb2), lost ERα and luminal marker K8, acquired basal cell markers (K5, p63), and exhibited a partial EMT plasticity (E-cadherin+/vimentin+). In advanced Twist1TKO tumor cells, Twist1 knockout largely diminished the expression of the aforementioned EMT-inducing TFs and basal and mesenchymal markers, but maintained the expression of the luminal markers. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were commonly detected in mice with advanced WT tumors, but not in mice with advanced Twist1TKO tumors. Nearly all WT CTCs coexpressed Twist1 with other EMT-inducing TFs and both epithelial and mesenchymal markers. Mice with advanced WT tumors developed extensive lung metastasis consisting of luminal tumor cells with silenced Twist1 and mesenchymal marker expression. Mice with advanced Twist1TKO tumors developed very little lung metastasis. Therefore, Twist1 is required for the expression of other EMT-inducing TFs in a small subset of tumor cells. Together, they induce partial EMT, basal-like tumor progression, intravasation, and metastasis.

scholarly journals Jacalin-Activated Macrophages Exhibit an Antitumor Phenotype

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Danella Polli ◽  
Luciana Pereira Ruas ◽  
Luciana Chain Veronez ◽  
Thais Herrero Geraldino ◽  
Fabiana Rossetto de Morais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Human Colon ◽  
Inos Mrna ◽  
Activated Macrophages ◽  
Proinflammatory Activity ◽  
Carcinogenic Process ◽  
Ht 29 ◽  
Mcf 7

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have an ambiguous and complex role in the carcinogenic process, since these cells can be polarized into different phenotypes (proinflammatory, antitumor cells or anti-inflammatory, protumor cells) by the tumor microenvironment. Given that the interactions between tumor cells and TAMs involve several players, a better understanding of the function and regulation of TAMs is crucial to interfere with their differentiation in attempts to skew TAM polarization into cells with a proinflammatory antitumor phenotype. In this study, we investigated the modulation of macrophage tumoricidal activities by the lectin jacalin. Jacalin bound to macrophage surface and induced the expression and/or release of mainly proinflammatory cytokines via NF-κB signaling, as well as increased iNOS mRNA expression, suggesting that the lectin polarizes macrophages toward the antitumor phenotype. Therefore, tumoricidal activities of jacalin-stimulated macrophages were evaluated. High rates of tumor cell (human colon, HT-29, and breast, MCF-7, cells) apoptosis were observed upon incubation with supernatants from jacalin-stimulated macrophages. Taken together, these results indicate that jacalin, by exerting a proinflammatory activity, can direct macrophages to an antitumor phenotype. Deep knowledge of the regulation of TAM functions is essential for the development of innovative anticancer strategies.

scholarly journals P11.65 Insights into the mechanisms of primary brain tumor invasion

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii58-iii59
Author(s):  
A Bikfalvi ◽  
T Daubon ◽  
C Billottet
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Cell Invasion ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Tumor Cell Invasion ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Matricellular Proteins

Abstract We have made progress in unravelling the mechanisms of tumor cell invasion by focusing the attention on two molecular pathways including chemokines and extracellular matrix molecules. Chemokines are important mediators of cell signaling that operate both on normal cells and tumor cells and in the immune-cell compartment (Billottet et al, 2013). Among the chemokine receptors, CXCR3 mediate diverse biological functions and comes in two major isoforms the A and B isoform. We found that ligand affinities and conformational changes are very different for the A and B form. We have recently elucidated the role and mechanism of CXCR3A in GBM invasion (Boyé et al, 2017b). We demonstrated that agonist stimulation enhances in vitro cell migration and invasion in GBM cells. A major finding was that CXCR3A forms a complex with the trafficking receptor Lipoprotein-related receptor-1 (LRP1). Silencing of LRP1 leads to an increase in the magnitude of ligand-induced conformational change with CXCR3-A focalized at the cell membrane, leading to sustained receptor activity and increase in the migration. This was also clinically validated. Our study defines LRP1 as a new regulator of CXCR3 and indicates that targeting CXCR3-A in GBM may constitute a promising strategy to halt tumor cell invasion. The extracellular matrix (ECM) has morphogenic roles in tumors. Important ECM components are the matricellular proteins, called thrombospondins(THBS1-5) (Adams and Lawler 2011). We recently elucidated the complex role of THSB1 in GBM invasion (Daubon et al.2019). Global expression analysis revealed that THBS1 is up-regulated in GBMs and associated with a poor prognosis. We, furthermore, demonstrated that THBS1 did not activate TGFβ in GBM but that TGFβ1 induced the expression of THBS1 via SMAD3. Furthermore, GBM invasion is compromised when THBS1 is silenced in tumor cells. Thus, our data clearly show that THBS1 is not only involved in the regulation of angiogenesis in GBM, but also impacts the invasive behaviour of glioma cells by interacting with a molecule called CD47 expressed on the surface of GBM cells. RNA-sequencing after microdissection of central and peripheral tumour areas in a human PDX model demonstrated that THBS1 was the gene with the highest connectivity in the peripheral invasive tumour areas. Taken together, these data indicate that THBS1 plays important role in the infiltrative process in GBM. REFERENCES: Adams JC, Lawler J. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2011;3:a009712 Billottet C, Quemener C, Bikfalvi A. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013;1836:287- Boyé K et al. Sci Rep. 2017;7:10703 Boyé K et al. Nat Commun. 2017;8:1571 Daubon T et al, Nature Communications. Nat Commun. 2019 Mar 8;10(1):1146 Murphy-Ullrich JE, Poczatek M. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2000 11:59

Platelets, Tumor Cell Invasiveness, and Metastasis

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. SCI-31-SCI-31
Author(s):  
Richard O. Hynes ◽  
Shahinoor Begum ◽  
Myriam Labelle
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Cell Contact ◽  
Cell Arrest

Abstract Platelets have long been known to promote metastasis, and multiple mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, including adhesion, coagulation, and protection against natural killer (NK) cells or turbulence. One mechanism that has been little explored is the possibility that platelets might secrete growth factors or provide other stimuli that could enhance the malignant properties of tumor cells. We have shown that pretreatment of carcinoma cells with platelets induces an EMT-like transformation in their properties in vitro and renders them much more metastatic after introduction into mice. TGF-β, produced by platelets and released on their activation is essential for both the in vitro and the in vivo effects. However, TGF-β alone is insufficient; platelet-tumor cell contact is also required and this contact activates NFkB signaling, which synergizes with the TGF-β signaling. Both signals are required for the enhancement of metastasis. In addition to enhancing migration and invasion in vitro, platelets enhance extravasation in vivo. Earlier work has shown that both P-selectin (expressed on platelets) and L-selectin (expressed on leukocytes) are essential for efficient metastasis, and aggregates of tumor cells, platelets, and leukocytes can be observed at sites of tumor cell arrest and extravasation. It has also been demonstrated by others that leukocytes can enhance extravasation and metastatic seeding. Therefore, we have been interested in the question of the relative roles of platelets and leukocytes in these processes. Which cell types are recruited at the sites of metastatic seeding? Does one cell type depend on another? Which cell types enhance metastasis? What roles do the platelets play in recruiting the other cell types? The involvement of platelets in enhancing metastasis also raises questions about the effects of platelets on circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Could platelets enhance the metastatic capacity of CTCs? Could it be the case that only those CTCs that are associated with platelets and/or leukocytes are functionally involved in seeding metastases? Such aggregates are not scored in most current assays for CTCs and will require new investigative approaches. Platelet participation in metastasis also raises the possibility of therapeutic interventions targeting platelet-specific targets and the paracrine interactions between them and other cells. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Rho–ROCK signaling regulates tumor-microenvironment interactions

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Zahied Johan ◽  
Michael S. Samuel
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Cancer Cell Growth ◽  
Current State ◽  
Clinical Models ◽  
Endothelial Migration ◽  
Biophysical Interactions

Abstract Reciprocal biochemical and biophysical interactions between tumor cells, stromal cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) result in a unique tumor microenvironment that determines disease outcome. The cellular component of the tumor microenvironment contributes to tumor growth by providing nutrients, assisting in the infiltration of immune cells and regulating the production and remodeling of the ECM. The ECM is a noncellular component of the tumor microenvironment and provides both physical and biochemical support to the tumor cells. Rho–ROCK signaling is a key regulator of actomyosin contractility and regulates cell shape, cytoskeletal arrangement and thereby cellular functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation, motility and adhesion. Rho–ROCK signaling has been shown to promote cancer cell growth, migration and invasion. However, it is becoming clear that this pathway also regulates key tumor-promoting properties of the cellular and noncellular components of the tumor microenvironment. There is accumulating evidence that Rho–ROCK signaling enhances ECM stiffness, modifies ECM composition, increases the motility of tumor-associated fibroblasts and lymphocytes and promotes trans-endothelial migration of tumor-associated lymphocytes. In this review, we briefly discuss the current state of knowledge on the role of Rho–ROCK signaling in regulating the tumor microenvironment and the implications of this knowledge for therapy, potentially via the development of selective inhibitors of the components of this pathway to permit the tuning of signaling flux, including one example with demonstrated utility in pre-clinical models.

scholarly journals The Fate of Fusions

Cells ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Clawson
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Fusion ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Genetic Instability ◽  
Cell Heterogeneity ◽  
Metastatic Dissemination ◽  
Tumor Cell Heterogeneity ◽  
Long Time

The concept of leukocyte-tumor cell fusion as a significant driver of cancer progression has been around a long time, and has garnered growing support over the last several years. The underlying idea seems quite simple and attractive: Fusion of tumor cells (with their inherent genetic instability) with leukocytes, particularly macrophages, could produce hybrids with high invasive capabilities, greatly facilitating their metastatic dissemination, while potentially accelerating tumor cell heterogeneity. While there are a number of attractive features with this story on the surface, the various studies seem to leave us with a conundrum, namely, what is the fate of such fusions?

scholarly journals TAMI-05. THE IRRADIATED BRAIN MICROENVIRONMENT SUPPORTS GLIOMA STEMNESS AND SURVIVAL VIA ASTROCYTE-DERIVED TRANSGLUTAMINASE 2

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii213-ii214
Author(s):  
Tracy Berg ◽  
Carolina Marques ◽  
Vasiliki Pantazopoulou ◽  
Elinn Johansson ◽  
Kristoffer von Stedingk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Mouse Models ◽  
Transglutaminase 2 ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Primary Tumors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Abstract The highest-grade gliomas invariably recur as incurable tumors following standard of care comprising surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The majority of the recurrent tumors form within the area of the brain receiving high-dose irradiation during treatment of the primary tumor, indicating that the recurrent tumor forms in an irradiated microenvironment. The tumor microenvironment has been demonstrated to influence the therapeutic response and stemness characteristics of tumor cells, but the influence of radiation on the microenvironment and its subsequent consequences for tumor cells are incompletely understood. Here, we used genetically engineered glioma mouse models and human glioma samples to characterize the impact of standard of care radiotherapy on the brain tumor microenvironment. We found that tumor-associated astrocytes subjected to radiation in vitro could enhance tumor cell stemness and survival of co-cultured glioma cells. More aggressive gliomas formed in vivo when mouse brains were irradiated prior to tumor cell implantation, suggesting that the irradiated brain microenvironment supports tumor growth. We isolated the effect of irradiated astrocytes to extracellular matrix secreted by these cells, and specifically found that astrocyte-derived transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) is a stromal promoter of glioma stemness and radioresistance. TGM2 levels were increased after radiation in glioma mouse models. Recombinant TGM2 enhanced, and TGM2 inhibitors blocked, glioma cell stemness. In human GBM tissue, TGM2 levels were increased in recurrent vs. primary tumors. In summary, in addition to supporting TGM2 as a potential therapeutic target in glioma, our data indicate that radiotherapy results in a tumor-supportive microenvironment, the targeting of which may be necessary to overcome tumor cell therapeutic resistance and recurrence.

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