Mechanistic insight for T-cell exclusion by cancer-associated fibroblasts in human lung cancer.

ABSTRACT: The tumor stroma consists mainly of extracellular matrix, fibroblasts, immune cells, and vasculature. Its structure and functions are altered during malignancy: tumor cells transform fibroblasts into cancer-associated fibroblasts, which exhibit immunosuppressive activities on which growth and metastasis depend. These include exclusion of immune cells from the tumor nest, cancer progression, and inhibition of T-cell-based immunotherapy. To understand these complex interactions, we measure the density of different cell types in the stroma using immunohistochemistry techniques on tumor samples from lung cancer patients. We incorporate these data into a minimal dynamical system, explore the variety of outcomes, and finally establish a spatio-temporal model that explains the cell distribution.

SUBMITTER: Ackermann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11984955 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature