Metabolic interplay between endometrial cancer and tumor-associated macrophages: lactate-induced M2 polarization enhances tumor progression.

ABSTRACT: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), abundant within the tumor microenvironment, are key mediators of immunosuppression and represent promising therapeutic targets. Metabolic crosstalk between tumor cells and TAMs is a critical regulator of immune phenotype switching. However, the interactions between endometrial cancer (EC) cells and TAMs remain incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that EC cells exhibit increased aerobic glycolysis, as confirmed by bulk transcriptomics, extracellular lactate measurements, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. M2-polarized TAMs were significantly more prevalent in EC tissues compared to normal endometrium, and this prevalence correlated with deep myometrial invasion and advanced stages. In vitro assays revealed that EC cell-derived lactate promotes M2

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12359828 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature