Langiu Mélanie, Crescence Lydie, Mège Diane, Dubois Christophe, Panicot-Dubois Laurence
Aix Marseille University, INRAE 1260 (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique et de l'Environnement), INSERM 1263 (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche), C2VN (Center for CardioVascular and Nutrition Research), Marseille, France.
Marseille University, PIVMI (Plateforme d'Imagerie Vasculaire et de Microscopie Intravitale), C2VN (Center for CardioVascular and Nutrition Research), Marseille, France.
PLoS One. 2025 Mar 17;20(3):e0317096. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317096. eCollection 2025.
Cancer-associated thrombosis, a major cause of mortality in cancer patients, exhibits a 4 to 7 times higher incidence compared to the general population. Platelet activation by tumor cells contributes to this pro-thrombotic state. Cancer cell-educated platelets have also been described to be implicated in promoting metastasis. Intriguingly, our team, among others, unveils a reverse process, wherein platelets educate cancer cells by transferring lipids, RNAs, and proteins. Here, focusing on colorectal and pancreatic cancers, our study investigates genes and proteins mediating platelet education of cancer cells. We demonstrated, for the first time, that platelets can educate cancer cells by inducing changes in the transcription of genes related to glycosylation, inflammation, and metastasis in cancer cells themselves. These results indicate a direct impact of platelets on cancer cell phenotype. This novel insight suggests potential therapeutic avenues for cancer treatment, disrupting platelet-mediated alterations and influencing the course of cancer progression.
癌症相关血栓形成是癌症患者死亡的主要原因，其发病率比普通人群高4至7倍。肿瘤细胞激活血小板促成了这种促血栓状态。据描述，受过癌细胞“教育”的血小板也参与促进转移。有趣的是，我们团队以及其他团队揭示了一个相反的过程，即血小板通过转移脂质、RNA和蛋白质来“教育”癌细胞。在此，我们的研究聚焦于结直肠癌和胰腺癌，调查介导血小板对癌细胞“教育”作用的基因和蛋白质。我们首次证明，血小板可通过诱导癌细胞自身糖基化、炎症和转移相关基因转录的变化来“教育”癌细胞。这些结果表明血小板对癌细胞表型有直接影响。这一新见解为癌症治疗提示了潜在的治疗途径，即破坏血小板介导的改变并影响癌症进展过程。
