The Role of Tumor Associated Macrophage in Recurrent Growth of Tumor Stem Cell
Abstract
The pro-inflammatory microenvironment in the tumor is established by first recruiting various leukocytes including tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) which is believed to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis, suppress adaptive immunity, and hence remodel tumor microenvironment. According to the recent cancer stem cell (CSC) theory, recurrent tumor must arise from a dormant tumor stem cell whose re-growth is triggered by shifting of microenvironment. This project aims at clarifying the roles of TAM in recurrent growth of dormant stem cell in breast cancer. We hypothesize that the balance of dormancy and recurrence is determined by the ability of the tumor stem cells to recruit TAM which in turn promotes self-renewal of the stem cell. We have established necessary mouse colonies and also developed the method to generate TAM. We have also shown that TAM indeed promotes the growth of CSCs in our animal model. In the next fiscal year, we will address two important points. First, we will clarify whether TAM indeed plays a critical role in recurrent growth of tumor stem cells, which we believe will bring in a paradigm shift into our research field for the understanding of the mechanism of recurrent tumor growth. Secondly, the results of this research will provide us with strong rationale for targeting TAM for chemo-prevention of recurrent breast cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA554388
Entities
People
- Aya Kobayashi
Organizations
- Southern Illinois University School of Medicine