Interactions between cancer cells and immune cells drive transitions to mesenchymal-like states in glioblastoma
- PMID: 34087162
- PMCID: PMC8366750
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.05.002
Interactions between cancer cells and immune cells drive transitions to mesenchymal-like states in glioblastoma
Erratum in
-
Interactions between cancer cells and immune cells drive transitions to mesenchymal-like states in glioblastoma.Cancer Cell. 2025 Jun 9;43(6):1175-1176. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.05.007. Epub 2025 May 27. Cancer Cell. 2025. PMID: 40436018 No abstract available.
Abstract
The mesenchymal subtype of glioblastoma is thought to be determined by both cancer cell-intrinsic alterations and extrinsic cellular interactions, but remains poorly understood. Here, we dissect glioblastoma-to-microenvironment interactions by single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of human tumors and model systems, combined with functional experiments. We demonstrate that macrophages induce a transition of glioblastoma cells into mesenchymal-like (MES-like) states. This effect is mediated, both in vitro and in vivo, by macrophage-derived oncostatin M (OSM) that interacts with its receptors (OSMR or LIFR) in complex with GP130 on glioblastoma cells and activates STAT3. We show that MES-like glioblastoma states are also associated with increased expression of a mesenchymal program in macrophages and with increased cytotoxicity of T cells, highlighting extensive alterations of the immune microenvironment with potential therapeutic implications.
Keywords: GBM; OSM; glioblastoma; macrophage; mesenchymal; scRNA-seq; tumor microenvironment.
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of interests M.L.S. and K.W.W. are equity holders, scientific co-founders, and advisory board members of Immunitas Therapeutics. I.T. is advisory board member of Immunitas Therapeutics. A.R. is a founder and equity holder of Celsius Therapeutics, an equity holder in Immunitas Therapeutics, and until July 31, 2020, was an SAB member for Thermo Fisher Scientific, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Asimov and Neogene Therapeutics. O.R.R. and A.R. are employees of Genentech since October 19, 2020, and August 1, 2020, respectively. K.W.W. serves on the scientific advisory board of TCR2 Therapeutics, T-Scan Therapeutics, SQZ Biotech, and Nextechinvest, and receives sponsored research funding from Novartis. N.D.M. serves as a scientific advisor to Immunitas Therapeutics. X.Z. is a co-founder and consultant for Vizgen, Inc.
Figures






Comment in
-
Macrophage-tumor cell intertwine drives the transition into a mesenchymal-like cellular state of glioblastoma.Cancer Cell. 2021 Jun 14;39(6):743-745. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2021.05.003. Epub 2021 Jun 3. Cancer Cell. 2021. PMID: 34087163
Similar articles
-
Murine Oncostatin M Acts via Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor to Phosphorylate Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) but Not STAT1, an Effect That Protects Bone Mass.J Biol Chem. 2016 Oct 7;291(41):21703-21716. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M116.748483. Epub 2016 Aug 18. J Biol Chem. 2016. PMID: 27539849 Free PMC article.
-
Annexin A2-STAT3-Oncostatin M receptor axis drives phenotypic and mesenchymal changes in glioblastoma.Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2020 Apr 5;8(1):42. doi: 10.1186/s40478-020-00916-7. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2020. PMID: 32248843 Free PMC article.
-
The AB loop and D-helix in binding site III of human Oncostatin M (OSM) are required for OSM receptor activation.J Biol Chem. 2018 May 4;293(18):7017-7029. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.001920. Epub 2018 Mar 6. J Biol Chem. 2018. PMID: 29511087 Free PMC article.
-
The Role of Oncostatin M and Its Receptor Complexes in Cardiomyocyte Protection, Regeneration, and Failure.Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 5;23(3):1811. doi: 10.3390/ijms23031811. Int J Mol Sci. 2022. PMID: 35163735 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Macrophages and microglia: the cerberus of glioblastoma.Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2021 Mar 25;9(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s40478-021-01156-z. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2021. PMID: 33766119 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Therapeutic Targeting of Glioblastoma and the Interactions with Its Microenvironment.Cancers (Basel). 2023 Dec 10;15(24):5790. doi: 10.3390/cancers15245790. Cancers (Basel). 2023. PMID: 38136335 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Heterogeneity of glioblastoma stem cells in the context of the immune microenvironment and geospatial organization.Front Oncol. 2022 Oct 19;12:1022716. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1022716. eCollection 2022. Front Oncol. 2022. PMID: 36338705 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Elucidating the diversity of malignant mesenchymal states in glioblastoma by integrative analysis.Genome Med. 2022 Sep 19;14(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s13073-022-01109-8. Genome Med. 2022. PMID: 36123598 Free PMC article.
-
Epigenetics and Metabolism Reprogramming Interplay into Glioblastoma: Novel Insights on Immunosuppressive Mechanisms.Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Jan 18;12(2):220. doi: 10.3390/antiox12020220. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023. PMID: 36829778 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Cellular and molecular features related to exceptional therapy response and extreme long-term survival in glioblastoma.Cancer Med. 2023 May;12(10):11107-11126. doi: 10.1002/cam4.5681. Epub 2023 Feb 12. Cancer Med. 2023. PMID: 36776000 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Butowski N, Colman H, De Groot JF, Omuro AM, Nayak L, Wen PY, Cloughesy TF, Marimuthu A, Haidar S, Perry A, et al. (2016). Orally administered colony stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor PLX3397 in recurrent glioblastoma: an Ivy Foundation Early Phase Clinical Trials Consortium phase II study. Neuro-oncology 18, 557–564. - PMC - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Molecular Biology Databases
Miscellaneous