Immunological cancer microenvironment during cancer recurrence

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K16214
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 49030:Experimental pathology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Women's Medical University (2021-2022); The University of Tokyo (2020)
• Principal Investigator: Asano Tatsuo 東京女子医科大学, 医学部, 博士研究員 (60708080)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: リンパ節転移

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We focused on elucidating the mechanisms of lymph node metastasis. We focused on the marginal reticuler cells (MRC), a subset of lymph node fibroblasts that localize in the outermost layer of lymph node follicles and line the marginal sinuses, and analyzed the genetic changes of MRC in the steady state, pre-metastatic state and post metastasis by RNA-seq. As a result, characteristic gene expression changes were observed before and after metastasis, and the conditional knockout mice were generated. Since some conditional knockout mice have lymph node defective phenotypes, it is difficult to evaluate them in metastasis experiments.For screening of candidate genes, gene transfer into lymph nodes by virus was planned, but the efficiency was not good, and the method is being improved.

Free Research Field

免疫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、リンパ節へのがん転移が起点となって遠隔転移が起きることが報告されているため、我々はリンパ節転移の機序解明に焦点をおいた。定常状態・前転移状態・転移後における辺縁細網細胞の遺伝子変化を RNA-seqによって解析しリンパ節転移前後における遺伝子変化の網羅的解析を行った。その結果、転移前後における特徴的な遺伝子発現変化を認めた。これらの遺伝子変化の意義を突き止めることで、リンパ節転移や遠隔転移の予防につながることが期待できる。