Tumor-immune hybrid cells evade the immune response and potentiate colorectal cancer metastasis through CTLA4.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the metastatic cascade is critical for the treatment and prevention of cancer-related death. Within a tumor, immune cells have the capacity to fuse with tumor cells to generate tumor-immune hybrid cells (THCs). THCs are hypothesized to be a subset of cancer cells with the capacity to enter circulation as circulating hybrid cells (CHC) and seed metastases. To understand the mechanism of THC metastasis, we investigated CHCs in peripheral blood from patients with stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC), as well as THCs in tissues of primary colorectal cancers and their liver metastasis sites using immunofluorescence, spatial proteomic, spatial transcriptomic, molecular classification, and molecular pathway analyses. Our findings indicated a high prevalence of CHCs and THCs in patients

SUBMITTER: Tanjak P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11538261 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature