Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment
The microenvironment of a tumor is constituted of a heterogenous population of stromal cells, extracellular matrix components, and secreted factors, all of which make the tumor microenvironment distinct from that of normal tissue. Unlike healthy cells, tumor cells require these unique surroundings t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2009-12-01
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| Series: | Neoplasia: An International Journal for Oncology Research |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147655860980095X |
| _version_ | 1818936949396733952 |
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| author | Aimee Alphonso Suresh K. Alahari |
| author_facet | Aimee Alphonso Suresh K. Alahari |
| author_sort | Aimee Alphonso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The microenvironment of a tumor is constituted of a heterogenous population of stromal cells, extracellular matrix components, and secreted factors, all of which make the tumor microenvironment distinct from that of normal tissue. Unlike healthy cells, tumor cells require these unique surroundings to metastasize, spread, and form a secondary tumor at a distant site. In this review, we discuss that stromal cells such as fibroblasts and immune cells including macrophages, their secreted factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, transforming growth factor β, and various chemokines, and the integrins that connect the various cell types play a particularly vital role in the survival of a growing tumor mass. Macrophages and fibroblasts are uniquely plastic cells because they are not only able to switch from tumor suppressing to tumor supporting phenotypes but also able to adopt various tumor-supporting functions based on their location within the microenvironment. Integrins serve as the backbone for all of these prometastatic operations because their function as cell-cell and cell-matrix signal transducers are important for the heterogenous components of the microenvironment to communicate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:44:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55bfc11ba8fd4d5c9da0f46322b62d29 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1476-5586 1522-8002 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:44:11Z |
| publishDate | 2009-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neoplasia: An International Journal for Oncology Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-55bfc11ba8fd4d5c9da0f46322b62d292022-12-21T19:51:21ZengElsevierNeoplasia: An International Journal for Oncology Research1476-55861522-80022009-12-0111121264127110.1593/neo.91302Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor MicroenvironmentAimee AlphonsoSuresh K. AlahariThe microenvironment of a tumor is constituted of a heterogenous population of stromal cells, extracellular matrix components, and secreted factors, all of which make the tumor microenvironment distinct from that of normal tissue. Unlike healthy cells, tumor cells require these unique surroundings to metastasize, spread, and form a secondary tumor at a distant site. In this review, we discuss that stromal cells such as fibroblasts and immune cells including macrophages, their secreted factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, transforming growth factor β, and various chemokines, and the integrins that connect the various cell types play a particularly vital role in the survival of a growing tumor mass. Macrophages and fibroblasts are uniquely plastic cells because they are not only able to switch from tumor suppressing to tumor supporting phenotypes but also able to adopt various tumor-supporting functions based on their location within the microenvironment. Integrins serve as the backbone for all of these prometastatic operations because their function as cell-cell and cell-matrix signal transducers are important for the heterogenous components of the microenvironment to communicate.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147655860980095X |
| spellingShingle | Aimee Alphonso Suresh K. Alahari Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment Neoplasia: An International Journal for Oncology Research |
| title | Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment |
| title_full | Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment |
| title_fullStr | Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment |
| title_short | Stromal Cells and Integrins: Conforming to the Needs of the Tumor Microenvironment |
| title_sort | stromal cells and integrins conforming to the needs of the tumor microenvironment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147655860980095X |
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