Department of Cancer Biology, Metastasis Research Center, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77005, USA
Dis Model Mech. 2018 Apr 19;11(4):dmm029447. doi: 10.1242/dmm.029447.
In malignant tumors, cancer cells adapt to grow within their host tissue. As a cancer progresses, an accompanying host stromal response evolves within and around the nascent tumor. Among the host stromal constituents associated with the tumor are cancer-associated fibroblasts, a highly abundant and heterogeneous population of cells of mesenchymal lineage. Although it is known that fibroblasts are present from the tumor's inception to the end-stage metastatic spread, their precise functional role in cancer is not fully understood. It has been suggested that cancer-associated fibroblasts play a key role in modulating the behavior of cancer cells, in part by promoting tumor growth, but evolving data also argue for their antitumor actions. Taken together, this suggests a putative bimodal function for cancer-associated fibroblasts in oncogenesis. As illustrated in this Review and its accompanying poster, cancer-associated fibroblasts are a dynamic component of the tumor microenvironment that orchestrates the interplay between the cancer cells and the host stromal response. Understanding the complexity of the relationship between cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts could offer insights into the regulation of tumor progression and control of cancer.
在恶性肿瘤中，癌细胞适应在宿主组织中生长。随着癌症的发展，在新生肿瘤内部和周围会出现伴随的宿主基质反应。与肿瘤相关的宿主基质成分包括癌相关成纤维细胞，这是一种高度丰富且异质性的间充质谱系细胞群体。尽管已知成纤维细胞从肿瘤的起始到终末期转移扩散都存在，但它们在癌症中的确切功能作用尚未完全了解。有人认为，癌相关成纤维细胞在调节癌细胞行为方面发挥着关键作用，部分是通过促进肿瘤生长，但不断发展的数据也表明它们具有抗肿瘤作用。总的来说，这表明癌相关成纤维细胞在肿瘤发生中具有潜在的双模态功能。正如本综述及其配套海报所示，癌相关成纤维细胞是肿瘤微环境的一个动态组成部分，协调着癌细胞与宿主基质反应之间的相互作用。了解癌细胞和成纤维细胞之间关系的复杂性，可以深入了解肿瘤进展的调控和癌症的控制。
