Li Xiaobo, Yan Sishan, Wu Xiaoyu, Miao Qun, Zhang Dong, Mai Wenfeng, Han Shuai, Tang Zhongshun, Ye Mingfang, Zhang Shuo, Wei Ji-An, Pan Jinghua, Huang Dandan, Qiu Shenghui, Zhao Zhan, Zhong Xiaotong, Huang Maohua, Qi Ming, Zhang Junqiu, Wang Chenran, Xie Jingwen, Wang Sheng, Luo Oscar Junhong, Zhang Dongmei, Ye Wencai, Chen Minfeng
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Aug 2;16(1):7115. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-62475-6.
Hemodynamics are important for survival and extravasation of circulating tumor cells, whereas the effects of hemodynamics on tumor cell intravasation remain mostly unknown. Here, we show that colorectal cancer patients with liver metastasis are characterized by increased diameter and blood flow in the primary tumor compared with non-metastatic patients. A subpopulation of NKX2-3 tumor pericytes (TPCs) in the primary tumor is associated with hematogenous metastasis of patients. Mechanistically, long noncoding RNA NEAT1-enriched extracellular vesicles induce NKX2-3 upregulation in TPCs. NKX2-3 suppresses calcium influx in TPCs via PDE1C/cAMP/PKA signaling axis, inducing tumor vasodilation and increasing blood flux and vascular leakage. Genetic deletion of Nkx2-3 or pharmacological blocking the transcriptional activity of NKX2-3 in TPCs with designed peptide induce tumor local vasoconstriction and decrease blood flow to mitigate tumor metastasis. These findings reveal that TPCs-regulated vasodilation and hemodynamics facilitate tumor metastasis, and provide a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic strategy for tumor metastasis.
血流动力学对循环肿瘤细胞的存活和外渗很重要,而血流动力学对肿瘤细胞内渗的影响大多仍不清楚。在此,我们表明,与无肝转移的患者相比,发生肝转移的结直肠癌患者的原发肿瘤具有更大的直径和更高的血流量。原发肿瘤中NKX2-3肿瘤周细胞(TPCs)的一个亚群与患者的血行转移有关。从机制上讲,富含长链非编码RNA NEAT1的细胞外囊泡诱导TPCs中NKX2-3上调。NKX2-3通过PDE1C/cAMP/PKA信号轴抑制TPCs中的钙内流,诱导肿瘤血管舒张并增加血流量和血管渗漏。通过基因敲除Nkx2-3或用设计肽在TPCs中阻断NKX2-3的转录活性,可诱导肿瘤局部血管收缩并减少血流量,从而减轻肿瘤转移。这些发现揭示了TPCs调节的血管舒张和血流动力学促进肿瘤转移,并为肿瘤转移提供了潜在的预后标志物和治疗策略。
Cell Mol Biol Lett. 2025-7-21
Cell. 2023-4-13
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2023-1-1
J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2022-11