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Yi Y, Qin G, Yang H, Jia H, Zeng Q, Zheng D, Ye S, Zhang Z, Liu TM, Luo KQ, Deng CX, Xu RH. Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Increase the Natural Killer Resistance of Circulating Tumor Cells via Intercellular Signaling of cGAS-STING-IFNβ-HLA. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2400888. [PMID: 38638003 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202400888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) shed from primary tumors must overcome the cytotoxicity of immune cells, particularly natural killer (NK) cells, to cause metastasis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) protects tumor cells from the cytotoxicity of immune cells, which is partially executed by cancer-associated mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). However, the mechanisms by which MSCs influence the NK resistance of CTCs remain poorly understood. This study demonstrates that MSCs enhance the NK resistance of cancer cells in a gap junction-dependent manner, thereby promoting the survival and metastatic seeding of CTCs in immunocompromised mice. Tumor cells crosstalk with MSCs through an intercellular cGAS-cGAMP-STING signaling loop, leading to increased production of interferon-β (IFNβ) by MSCs. IFNβ reversely enhances the type I IFN (IFN-I) signaling in tumor cells and hence the expression of human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) on the cell surface, protecting the tumor cells from NK cytotoxicity. Disruption of this loop reverses NK sensitivity in tumor cells and decreases tumor metastasis. Moreover, there are positive correlations between IFN-I signaling, HLA-I expression, and NK tolerance in human tumor samples. Thus, the NK-resistant signaling loop between tumor cells and MSCs may serve as a novel therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Yi
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Guihui Qin
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Hongmei Yang
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Hao Jia
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Qibing Zeng
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Dejin Zheng
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Sen Ye
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Zhiming Zhang
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Tzu-Ming Liu
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Kathy Qian Luo
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Chu-Xia Deng
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Ren-He Xu
- Center of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Cancer Center, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, 999078, China
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Comparison of microfluidic platforms for the enrichment of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2022; 196:75-85. [PMID: 36074219 PMCID: PMC9550727 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-022-06717-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Purpose Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) hold promise to be a non-invasive measurable biomarker in all cancer stages. Because the analysis of CTCs is still a technical challenge, we compared different types of microfluidic enrichment protocols to isolate these rare cells from the blood. Methods Blood samples from patients with early and metastatic breast cancer (BC) were processed using the microfluidic Parsortix® technology employing (i) a single-step cell separation using the standard GEN3D6.5 microfluidic cassette, (ii) a two-step separation with an upfront pre-enrichment, and (iii) a two-step separation with a different type of cassette. In the enriched cells, the gene expression levels of CTC-related transcripts were assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) by Taqman® and Lightcycler (LC) technology. Results 23/60 (38.3%) BC samples were assigned as positive due to the presence of at least one gene marker beyond the threshold level. The prevalence of epithelial markers was significantly higher in metastatic compared to early BC (EpCAM: 31.3% vs. 7.3%; CK19: 21.1% vs. 2.4%). A high level of concordance was observed between CK19 assessed by Taqman® and LC technology, and for detection of the BC-specific gene SCGB2A2. An upfront pre-enrichment resulted in lower leukocyte contamination, at the cost of fewer tumor cells captured. Conclusion The Parsortix® system offers both reasonable recovery of tumor cells and depletion of contaminating leukocytes when the single-step separation using the GEN3D6.5 cassette is employed. Careful selection of suitable markers and cut-off thresholds is an essential point for the subsequent molecular analysis of the enriched cells.
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