Jan. 23 Preclinical Quick Takes: Metastasis-associated cancer-associated fibroblast populations; plus NIH-TeneoBio and Basilea

Cancer-associated fibroblast subsets linked to metastasis

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team from Institut Curie and INSERM identified within breast cancer patients’ lymph nodes four subpopulations of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Two subsets -- one positive and one negative for FAP, and both expressing ACTA2 and CD29 -- were enriched in the lymph nodes of 124 patients and associated with shorter disease-free and overall survival. The first population promoted metastasis via cancer cell migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition induction via CXCL12 and TGFβ signaling; the second by promoting invasion via NOTCH signaling. ...