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He Y, Han Y, Fan AH, Li D, Wang B, Ji K, Wang X, Zhao X, Lu Y. Multi-perspective comparison of the immune microenvironment of primary colorectal cancer and liver metastases. Lab Invest 2022; 20:454. [PMID: 36195882 PMCID: PMC9533561 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03667-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liver metastases are a major contributor to the poor immunotherapy response in colorectal cancer patients. However, the distinctions in the immune microenvironment between primary tumors and liver metastases are poorly characterized. The goal of this study was to compare the expression profile of multiple immune cells to further analyze the similarities and differences between the microenvironments of liver metastases and the primary tumor. METHODS Tissues from 17 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent resection of primary and liver metastases was analyzed using multispectral immunofluorescence. The expression of multiple immune cells (CD8, Foxp3, CD68, CD163, CD20, CD11c, CD66b, CD56, PD-L1, INF-γ, Ki67 and VEGFR-2) in the tumor center (TC), tumor invasive front (< 150 µm from the tumor center, TF) and peritumoral region (≥ 150 µm from the tumor center, PT) was evaluated via comparison. The expression of CD68 and CD163 in different regions was further analyzed based on the cell colocalization method. In addition, different immune phenotypes were studied and compared according to the degree of CD8 infiltration. RESULTS The expression trends of 12 markers in the TF and TC regions were basically the same in the primary tumor and liver metastasis lesions. However, in comparison of the TF and PT regions, the expression trends were not identical between primary and liver metastases, especially CD163, which was more highly expressed in the PT region relative to the TF region. In the contrast of different space distribution, the expression of CD163 was higher in liver metastases than in the primary foci. Further analysis of CD68 and CD163 via colocalization revealed that the distribution of macrophages in liver metastases was significantly different from that in the primary foci, with CD68-CD163+ macrophages predominating in liver metastases. In addition, among the three immunophenotypes, CD163 expression was highest in the immune rejection phenotype. CONCLUSIONS The immune cells found in the primary tumors of colorectal cancer differed from those in liver metastases in terms of their spatial distribution. More immunosuppressive cells were present in the liver metastases, with the most pronounced differential distribution found for macrophages. CD68-CD163+ macrophages may be associated with intrahepatic immunosuppression and weak immunotherapeutic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangsong He
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Yanan Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - A-Hui Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Danxiu Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Boda Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Kun Ji
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710038, China.
| | - Xiaodi Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Yuanyuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology and National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
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Seliger B, Massa C. Modulation of Lymphocyte Functions in the Microenvironment by Tumor Oncogenic Pathways. Front Immunol 2022; 13:883639. [PMID: 35663987 PMCID: PMC9160824 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.883639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the broad application of different immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of solid as well as hematopoietic cancers, the efficacy of these therapies is still limited, with only a minority of patients having a long-term benefit resulting in an improved survival rate. In order to increase the response rates of patients to the currently available immunotherapies, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the intrinsic and/or extrinsic resistance to treatment is required. There exist increasing evidences that activation of different oncogenic pathways as well as inactivation of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) in tumor cells inhibit the immune cell recognition and influegnce the composition of the tumor microenvironment (TME), thus leading to an impaired anti-tumoral immune response. A deeper understanding of the link between the tumor milieu and genomic alterations of TSGs and oncogenes is indispensable for the optimization of immunotherapies and to predict the patients’ response to these treatments. This review summarizes the role of different cancer-related, oncogene- and TSG-controlled pathways in the context of anti-tumoral immunity and response to different immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Seliger
- Institute of Medical Immunology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Chiara Massa
- Institute of Medical Immunology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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Leong SP, Witz IP, Sagi-Assif O, Izraely S, Sleeman J, Piening B, Fox BA, Bifulco CB, Martini R, Newman L, Davis M, Sanders LM, Haussler D, Vaske OM, Witte M. Cancer microenvironment and genomics: evolution in process. Clin Exp Metastasis 2021; 39:85-99. [PMID: 33970362 DOI: 10.1007/s10585-021-10097-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer heterogeneity is a result of genetic mutations within the cancer cells. Their proliferation is not only driven by autocrine functions but also under the influence of cancer microenvironment, which consists of normal stromal cells such as infiltrating immune cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, pericytes, vascular and lymphatic channels. The relationship between cancer cells and cancer microenvironment is a critical one and we are just on the verge to understand it on a molecular level. Cancer microenvironment may serve as a selective force to modulate cancer cells to allow them to evolve into more aggressive clones with ability to invade the lymphatic or vascular channels to spread to regional lymph nodes and distant sites. It is important to understand these steps of cancer evolution within the cancer microenvironment towards invasion so that therapeutic strategies can be developed to control or stop these processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley P Leong
- California Pacific Medical Center and Research Institute, San Francisco, USA
| | - Isaac P Witz
- The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, School of Molecular Cell Biology & Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orit Sagi-Assif
- The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, School of Molecular Cell Biology & Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sivan Izraely
- The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, School of Molecular Cell Biology & Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Jonathan Sleeman
- European Center for Angioscience, Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim der Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Rachel Martini
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, NY, USA.,Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Lisa Newman
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Melissa Davis
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, NY, USA.
| | - Lauren M Sanders
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz and UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, Santa Cruz, USA
| | - David Haussler
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, USA.
| | - Olena M Vaske
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz and UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, Santa Cruz, USA
| | - Marlys Witte
- Department of Surgery, Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, AZ, USA
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