Colorectal cancer-derived extracellular vesicles induce tumor immunotolerance

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870243
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Immunology; Tumor biology
• Research Institution: Gifu University
• Principal Investigator: Yamada Nami 岐阜大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 助教 (40727319)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞外小胞 / エクソソーム / 細胞間コミュニケーション / がん微小環境

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Emerging studies on tumor cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have shown the biological significance in tumor development and microenvironment through reprogramming immune cells around cancer cells. In this study, we used colorectal cancer cells as EV-donor, and T cells as EV-recipient to examine whether EVs impair the T cell function.
As a result, we found that colorectal cancer cell-derived EVs (CRC-EVs) were enriched with TGF-β1. Interestingly, CRC-EVs induced phenotypic alteration of the T cells to Treg-like cells through activating TGF-β/Smad signaling and inactivating SAPK signaling. Furthermore, the CRC-EVs-induced-Treg-like cells had a remarkable tumor-growth promoting activity in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that colorectal cancer cells utilize EVs to tame immune cells for their prosperity.

Free Research Field

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