Adhesion forces between macrophages and cancer cells promote early tumor development - PubMed
3 days ago
- #physical forces
- #tumor development
- #macrophage
- Adhesion forces between macrophages and cancer cells promote early tumor development.
- Macrophages, but not monocytes, promote early tumor growth in KrasG12D p53-/- (KP) lung tumor spheroids.
- Macrophages induce the formation of multiple tumor aggregates that grow, fuse, and expand nutrient access, increasing cancer cell proliferation.
- A physical model predicted macrophage redistribution toward the periphery of tumor aggregates, confirmed in vitro and observed in vivo.
- CD11c, highly expressed by alveolar macrophages, is a key mediator of adhesion forces between tumor cells and macrophages.
- Blockade of CD11c reduced adhesion forces, prevented macrophage-driven spheroid nucleation, and impaired tumor growth.
- In RAG-KO mice, CD11c inhibition reduced tumor survival probability and slowed tumor growth, indicating its role beyond the lung.
- The study highlights a critical physical mechanism by which macrophages promote early tumor progression.