When antimicrobial peptides hit the wrong target: a novel link between tumour macrophages and cancer stem cells

• Published in: Gut Vol. 64; no. 12; pp. 1841 - 1842
• Main Authors: Diaferia, Giuseppe R, Natoli, Gioacchino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01.12.2015
• Subjects: Animals; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides - metabolism; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - metabolism; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal - pathology; Gene expression; Humans; Inflammation; Neoplastic Stem Cells - secretion; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Stem cells; Tumor Microenvironment; Tumors; STEM CELLS; PANCREATIC CANCER; INFLAMMATION; MACROPHAGES
• ISSN: 0017-5749; 1468-3288
• DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-309605

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common and almost invariably deadly pancreatic tumour, is characterised by a dense tumour stroma that contains a heterogeneous population of cells including stellate cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and a number of inflammatory and immune cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages. 1 Indeed, infiltration by immune cells is a hallmark of most forms of malignancy and tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) represent key regulators of the interplay between immune system and cancer, usually fostering rather than restraining tumour growth. 2 TAMs produce a number of potent angiogenic and lymphoangiogenic factors, cytokines, and proteases all of which may potentiate neoplastic progression and tissue invasion, as also indicated by the therapeutic effect of macrophage depletion in specific tumour models. 2 Recent evidence suggests that TAM-derived inflammatory components may also act on tissue cells to promote tumourigenesis.