Immune evasion through mitochondrial transfer in the tumour microenvironment.

ABSTRACT: Cancer cells in the tumour microenvironment use various mechanisms to evade the immune system, particularly T cell attack¹. For example, metabolic reprogramming in the tumour microenvironment and mitochondrial dysfunction in tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) impair antitumour immune responses^2-4. However, detailed mechanisms of such processes remain unclear. Here we analyse clinical specimens and identify mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in TILs that are shared with cancer cells. Moreover, mitochondria with mtDNA mutations from cancer cells are able to transfer to TILs. Typically, mitochondria in TILs readily undergo mitophagy through reactive oxygen species. However, mitochondria transferred from cancer cells do not undergo mitophagy, which we find is due to

SUBMITTER: Ikeda H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11798832 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature