Division of Tumor Cell Biology and Bioimaging, Cancer Research Institute of Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
WPI Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
Cancer Sci. 2024 Sep;115(9):2871-2878. doi: 10.1111/cas.16241. Epub 2024 Jul 11.
Cancer brain metastasis has a poor prognosis, is commonly observed in clinical practice, and the number of cases is increasing as overall cancer survival improves. However, experiments in mouse models have shown that brain metastasis itself is an inefficient process. One reason for this inefficiency is the brain microenvironment, which differs significantly from that of other organs, making it difficult for cancer cells to adapt. The brain microenvironment consists of unique resident cell types such as neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia. Accumulating evidence over the past decades suggests that the interactions between cancer cells and glial cells can positively or negatively influence the development of brain metastasis. Nevertheless, elucidating the complex interactions between cancer cells and glial cells remains challenging, in part due to the limitations of existing experimental models for glial cell culture. In this review, we first provide an overview of glial cell culture methods and then examine recent discoveries regarding the interactions between brain metastatic cancer cells and the surrounding glial cells, with a special focus on astrocytes and microglia. Finally, we discuss future perspectives for understanding the multifaceted interactions between cancer cells and glial cells for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors.
癌症脑转移预后不良，在临床实践中很常见，随着癌症总体生存率的提高，其发病人数也在增加。然而，在小鼠模型中的实验表明，脑转移本身是一个效率低下的过程。这种低效率的一个原因是大脑微环境，它与其他器官有很大的不同，使得癌细胞难以适应。大脑微环境由独特的常驻细胞类型组成，如神经元、少突胶质细胞、星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞。过去几十年来的大量证据表明，癌细胞和神经胶质细胞之间的相互作用可以积极或消极地影响脑转移的发展。然而，阐明癌细胞和神经胶质细胞之间的复杂相互作用仍然具有挑战性，部分原因是现有的神经胶质细胞培养实验模型存在局限性。在这篇综述中，我们首先概述了神经胶质细胞的培养方法，然后研究了最近关于脑转移癌细胞与周围神经胶质细胞相互作用的发现，特别关注星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞。最后，我们讨论了为了治疗转移性脑肿瘤而理解癌细胞和神经胶质细胞之间多方面相互作用的未来展望。
