Kwon Doru, Park Hyun Woo, Min Byung Soh, Choi Junjeong
College of Pharmacy, Yonsei Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yonsei University, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Brain Korea 21 Project, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 20;15(1):30552. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-13309-4.
Adipocytes play a dynamic role in the tumor microenvironment (TME) by acting as facilitators, providing cytokines and metabolites that regulate cancer progression and metastasis. Despite metastasis being a major contributor to cancer-associated mortality, our understanding of how adipocytes influence this process remains limited. This study aims to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of Adherent to Suspension Transition (AST) reprogramming within the adipocyte, driven by anchorage dependency. AST facilitates the conversion of adherent tumor cells into suspension cells, thereby contributing to the generation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). We have evaluated generating AST cells from primary tumors using a dissemination assay that mimics CTCs in vitro. Additionally, we examined AST cell formation when incubated with human adipocyte-conditioned media (ADCM) using the InCucyte live-cell imaging system. Through this approach, we effectively assessed the impact of the tumor-adipocyte interactions on CTC formation from the perspective of AST. As a metastasis-initiating marker, CD36 is pivotal in fatty acid (FA) acquisition and regulates lipid metabolic remodeling during the AST. The generation of AST cells through AST reprogramming is controlled by fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and pharmacological blockade of CD36 and FAO significantly reduced AST cell generation. This demonstrates that CD36 plays a key role in the early stages of AST-induced dissemination. Additionally, promoting cancer cell aggressiveness through ADCM enhances metastatic potency and upregulates the expression of AST reprogramming factors. Inhibition of lipid metabolism not only suppresses AST cell formation but also decreases survival in suspension. This indicates that exogenous lipid uptake and FAO via CD36 play crucial roles in the metastasis process, facilitating the dissemination of primary tumors into the bloodstream. Adipocytes contribute to cancer progression by supplying various metabolites to cancer cells. While primary tumors predominantly rely on glucose as a major energy source, cellular remodeling during dissemination shifts metabolic dependency toward lipids. In the TME, where adipocytes are abundant, tumor cells acquire FA through CD36-mediated uptake for metabolic adaptation. This shift to lipid metabolism is essential for AST, and thus, targeting lipid metabolism via inhibition of CD36 and FAO could serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for AST.
脂肪细胞通过充当促进者,在肿瘤微环境(TME)中发挥动态作用,提供调节癌症进展和转移的细胞因子和代谢产物。尽管转移是癌症相关死亡的主要原因,但我们对脂肪细胞如何影响这一过程的了解仍然有限。本研究旨在阐明由锚定依赖性驱动的脂肪细胞内贴壁到悬浮转变(AST)重编程的调控机制。AST促进贴壁肿瘤细胞转化为悬浮细胞,从而有助于循环肿瘤细胞(CTC)的产生。我们使用一种在体外模拟CTC的播散试验评估了从原发性肿瘤生成AST细胞的情况。此外,我们使用InCucyte活细胞成像系统检测了与人类脂肪细胞条件培养基(ADCM)孵育时AST细胞的形成。通过这种方法,我们从AST的角度有效评估了肿瘤 - 脂肪细胞相互作用对CTC形成的影响。作为转移起始标志物,CD36在脂肪酸(FA)摄取中起关键作用,并在AST过程中调节脂质代谢重塑。通过AST重编程产生AST细胞受脂肪酸氧化(FAO)控制,对CD36和FAO的药理学阻断显著减少了AST细胞的产生。这表明CD36在AST诱导的播散早期阶段起关键作用。此外,通过ADCM促进癌细胞侵袭性可增强转移潜能并上调AST重编程因子的表达。抑制脂质代谢不仅抑制AST细胞形成,还降低悬浮状态下的存活率。这表明通过CD36进行的外源性脂质摄取和FAO在转移过程中起关键作用,促进原发性肿瘤向血液中的播散。脂肪细胞通过向癌细胞提供各种代谢产物促进癌症进展。虽然原发性肿瘤主要依赖葡萄糖作为主要能量来源,但播散过程中的细胞重塑将代谢依赖性转向脂质。在富含脂肪细胞的TME中,肿瘤细胞通过CD36介导的摄取获取FA以进行代谢适应。这种向脂质代谢的转变对AST至关重要,因此,通过抑制CD36和FAO靶向脂质代谢可作为AST的潜在治疗策略。
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