1. IL-1R signaling drives enteric glia-macrophage interactions in colorectal cancer
- Author
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Lies van Baarle, Veronica De Simone, Linda Schneider, Sneha Santhosh, Saeed Abdurahiman, Francesca Biscu, Reiner Schneider, Lisa Zanoletti, Renata Siqueira de Mello, Sara Verbandt, Zedong Hu, Michelle Stakenborg, Bo-Jun Ke, Nathalie Stakenborg, Raquel Salvador Laureano, Balbina García-Reyes, Jonas Henn, Marieta Toma, Maxime Vanmechelen, Guy Boeckxstaens, Frederik De Smet, Abhishek D. Garg, Sales Ibiza, Sabine Tejpar, Sven Wehner, and Gianluca Matteoli
- Subjects
Science - Abstract
Abstract Enteric glia have been recently recognized as key components of the colonic tumor microenvironment indicating their potential role in colorectal cancer pathogenesis. Although enteric glia modulate immune responses in other intestinal diseases, their interaction with the colorectal cancer immune cell compartment remains unclear. Through a combination of single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing, both in murine models and patients, here we find that enteric glia acquire an immunomodulatory phenotype by bi-directional communication with tumor-infiltrating monocytes. The latter direct a reactive enteric glial cell phenotypic and functional switch via glial IL-1R signaling. In turn, tumor glia promote monocyte differentiation towards pro-tumorigenic SPP1+ tumor-associated macrophages by IL-6 release. Enteric glia cell abundancy correlates with worse disease outcomes in preclinical models and colorectal cancer patients. Thereby, our study reveals a neuroimmune interaction between enteric glia and tumor-associated macrophages in the colorectal tumor microenvironment, providing insights into colorectal cancer pathogenesis.
- Published
- 2024
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