Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer
Enhanced knowledge of the interaction of cancer cells with their environment elucidated the critical role of tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and chemoresistance. Cancer-associated fibroblasts act as the protagonists of the tumor microenvironment, fostering the metastasis, stemness, and c...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2024.1340124/full |
| _version_ | 1797258591273484288 |
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| author | Ece Ozmen Tevriz Dilan Demir Gulnihal Ozcan Gulnihal Ozcan |
| author_facet | Ece Ozmen Tevriz Dilan Demir Gulnihal Ozcan Gulnihal Ozcan |
| author_sort | Ece Ozmen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Enhanced knowledge of the interaction of cancer cells with their environment elucidated the critical role of tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and chemoresistance. Cancer-associated fibroblasts act as the protagonists of the tumor microenvironment, fostering the metastasis, stemness, and chemoresistance of cancer cells and attenuating the anti-cancer immune responses. Gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers in the clinic, refractory to anti-cancer therapies. Growing evidence indicates that cancer-associated fibroblasts are the most prominent risk factors for a poor tumor immune microenvironment and dismal prognosis in gastric cancer. Therefore, targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts may be central to surpassing resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics, molecular-targeted agents, and immunotherapies, improving survival in gastric cancer. However, the heterogeneity in cancer-associated fibroblasts may complicate the development of cancer-associated fibroblast targeting approaches. Although single-cell sequencing studies started dissecting the heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts, the research community should still answer these questions: “What makes a cancer-associated fibroblast protumorigenic?”; “How do the intracellular signaling and the secretome of different cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations differ from each other?”; and “Which cancer-associated fibroblast subtypes predominate specific cancer types?”. Unveiling these questions can pave the way for discovering efficient cancer-associated fibroblast targeting strategies. Here, we review current knowledge and perspectives on these questions, focusing on how CAFs induce aggressiveness and therapy resistance in gastric cancer. We also review potential therapeutic approaches to prevent the development and activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts via inhibition of CAF inducers and CAF markers in cancer. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:55:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67569d94163f4b4099f850d00cacabb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-889X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:55:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-67569d94163f4b4099f850d00cacabb92024-03-18T04:54:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences2296-889X2024-03-011110.3389/fmolb.2024.13401241340124Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancerEce Ozmen0Tevriz Dilan Demir1Gulnihal Ozcan2Gulnihal Ozcan3Koç University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Istanbul, TürkiyeKoç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM), Istanbul, TürkiyeKoç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM), Istanbul, TürkiyeDepartment of Medical Pharmacology, Koç University School of Medicine, Istanbul, TürkiyeEnhanced knowledge of the interaction of cancer cells with their environment elucidated the critical role of tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and chemoresistance. Cancer-associated fibroblasts act as the protagonists of the tumor microenvironment, fostering the metastasis, stemness, and chemoresistance of cancer cells and attenuating the anti-cancer immune responses. Gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers in the clinic, refractory to anti-cancer therapies. Growing evidence indicates that cancer-associated fibroblasts are the most prominent risk factors for a poor tumor immune microenvironment and dismal prognosis in gastric cancer. Therefore, targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts may be central to surpassing resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics, molecular-targeted agents, and immunotherapies, improving survival in gastric cancer. However, the heterogeneity in cancer-associated fibroblasts may complicate the development of cancer-associated fibroblast targeting approaches. Although single-cell sequencing studies started dissecting the heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts, the research community should still answer these questions: “What makes a cancer-associated fibroblast protumorigenic?”; “How do the intracellular signaling and the secretome of different cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations differ from each other?”; and “Which cancer-associated fibroblast subtypes predominate specific cancer types?”. Unveiling these questions can pave the way for discovering efficient cancer-associated fibroblast targeting strategies. Here, we review current knowledge and perspectives on these questions, focusing on how CAFs induce aggressiveness and therapy resistance in gastric cancer. We also review potential therapeutic approaches to prevent the development and activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts via inhibition of CAF inducers and CAF markers in cancer.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2024.1340124/fullcancer-associated fibroblaststumor microenvironmentgastric cancerchemoresistancestemnessmetastasis |
| spellingShingle | Ece Ozmen Tevriz Dilan Demir Gulnihal Ozcan Gulnihal Ozcan Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences cancer-associated fibroblasts tumor microenvironment gastric cancer chemoresistance stemness metastasis |
| title | Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| title_full | Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| title_fullStr | Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| title_short | Cancer-associated fibroblasts: protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| title_sort | cancer associated fibroblasts protagonists of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer |
| topic | cancer-associated fibroblasts tumor microenvironment gastric cancer chemoresistance stemness metastasis |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2024.1340124/full |
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