Molecular Immunology Unit, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Catanzaro "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2019 Mar 13;38(1):128. doi: 10.1186/s13046-019-1122-2.
Cell-to-cell communication has a critical role during tumor development and progression, allowing cancer cell to re-program not only the surrounding tumor microenvironment, but also cells located at distant sites. The crosstalk between neoplastic cells and accessory elements, such as immune and stromal cells, fosters several processes that are necessary for tumor progression and dissemination, such as angiogenesis, immune-escape, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, invasion and multi-drug resistance. There are several means by which cells communicate to each other, either by direct cell interactions through membrane receptors and ligands, or by releasing soluble molecules, such as growth factors, cytokines and chemokines. More recently, additional means of cell communication have been identified, such as microRNAs and extracellular vesicles. These two peculiar ways of cell-to-cell interaction were the focus of the 31st Annual Conference of the Italian Association of Cell Cultures (AICC).
细胞间通讯在肿瘤发生和进展过程中起着关键作用，使癌细胞不仅能够重新编程周围的肿瘤微环境，还能够重新编程远处部位的细胞。肿瘤细胞与辅助细胞（如免疫细胞和基质细胞）之间的串扰促进了肿瘤进展和扩散所必需的几个过程，如血管生成、免疫逃避、上皮-间充质转化、侵袭和多药耐药。细胞之间相互交流的方式有几种，要么通过膜受体和配体的直接细胞相互作用，要么通过释放可溶性分子，如生长因子、细胞因子和趋化因子。最近，还发现了其他细胞通讯方式，如 microRNAs 和细胞外囊泡。这两种特殊的细胞间相互作用方式是第 31 届意大利细胞培养协会（AICC）年会的重点。
