Liu Xiaona, Yang Jun
Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiao Tong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Front Oncol. 2023 Aug 10;13:1242725. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1242725. eCollection 2023.
The cell-in-cell (CIC) phenomenon has received increasing attention over recent years because of its wide existence in multiple cancer tissues. The mechanism of CIC formation is considerably complex as it involves interactions between two cells. Although the molecular mechanisms of CIC formation have been extensively investigated, the process of CIC formation remains ambiguous. Currently, CIC is classified into four subtypes based on different cell types and inducing factors, and the underlying mechanisms for each subtype are distinct. Here, we investigated the subtypes of CIC and their major mechanisms involved in cancer development. To determine the clinical significance of CIC, we reviewed several clinical studies on CIC and found that CIC could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The implications of CIC on the clinical management of cancers also remain largely unknown. To clarify this aspect, in the present review, we highlight the findings of recent investigations on the causal link between CIC and cancer treatment. We also indicate the existing issues that need to be resolved urgently to provide a potential direction for future research on CIC.
近年来，细胞内细胞（CIC）现象因其在多种癌症组织中的广泛存在而受到越来越多的关注。CIC形成的机制相当复杂，因为它涉及两个细胞之间的相互作用。尽管对CIC形成的分子机制进行了广泛研究，但CIC的形成过程仍不明确。目前，根据不同的细胞类型和诱导因素，CIC被分为四种亚型，每种亚型的潜在机制各不相同。在此，我们研究了CIC的亚型及其在癌症发展中的主要机制。为了确定CIC的临床意义，我们回顾了几项关于CIC的临床研究，发现CIC可作为一种诊断和预后生物标志物。CIC对癌症临床管理的影响在很大程度上也仍然未知。为了阐明这一方面，在本综述中，我们重点介绍了最近关于CIC与癌症治疗之间因果关系的研究结果。我们还指出了亟待解决的现有问题，为未来CIC的研究提供潜在方向。
