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The tumor biochemical and biophysical microenvironments synergistically contribute to cancer cell malignancy

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 17, pages 1186–1187 (2020)Cite this article

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The tumor microenvironment plays a key role in malignant tumor progression. As a place where tumor cells survive, the tumor microenvironment contains not only tumor cells themselves but also biochemical and biophysical elements. Tumor cells can change the microenvironment, which in turn affects the survival and development of tumor cells. Tumor malignancy is a highly regulated pathological process following a series of complex cellular-biological events called invasion–metastasis cascades. In this correspondence, we intend to provide a comprehensive background on the tumor environment to inspire further innovations in relevant research areas in the future.

Invasion–metastasis cascades produce clinically detectable metastatic lesions.1 Throughout these processes, biochemical and biophysical factors are involved. First, invasion requires the dynamics of intercellular adhesions and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cancer cells undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) at a certain stage accompanied by a decrease in E-cadherin and an increase in N-cadherin.2 Meanwhile, the ability of cells to degrade the ECM is enhanced, which is dependent on the chemical microenvironment, such as the activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPa),3 and these changes increase the ability of cancer cells to invade and metastasize. Once in the blood vessels, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) face several natural barriers that hinder the metastatic process. The leading barriers are the huge shear stress generated by the blood flow and its collision with blood cells. Studies have shown that CTCs with EMT are more resistant to shear stress.4 Last, in the blood, CTCs face the body’s immune system. CTCs can upregulate CD47 to prevent attack from macrophages and dendritic cells to achieve immune escape.5 Therefore, biochemical and biophysical factors both contribute to cancer cell malignancy.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part or in whole, by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11772088, 31700811, 11802056, 31800780, and 81671821), the Research Program of Sichuan Science and Technology (2017JY0019, 2017JY0217, 2019YJ0183, and 2019YJ0184), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017JY0217, 2018M640904, and 2019T120831), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (ZYGX2016Z001).

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  1. Department of Biophysics, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, P. R. China

    Xiang Qin, Tingting Li, Shun Li, Hong Yang, Chunhui Wu & Yiyao Liu

  2. Center for Information in Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, Sichuan, P. R. China

    Xiang Qin, Tingting Li, Shun Li, Hong Yang, Chunhui Wu & Yiyao Liu

  3. Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 39 Shi-er-qiao Road, Chengdu, 610072, Sichuan, P. R. China

    Chuan Zheng, Fengming You & Yiyao Liu

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  1. Xiang Qin
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Correspondence to Yiyao Liu.

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Qin, X., Li, T., Li, S. et al. The tumor biochemical and biophysical microenvironments synergistically contribute to cancer cell malignancy. Cell Mol Immunol 17, 1186–1187 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-019-0282-5

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