Abstract
Inactivation of TGF-β family signaling is implicated in colorectal tumor progression. Using cis-Apc+/Δ716 Smad4+/− mutant mice (referred to as cis-Apc/Smad4), a model of invasive colorectal cancer in which TGF-β family signaling is blocked, we show here that a new type of immature myeloid cell (iMC) is recruited from the bone marrow to the tumor invasion front. These CD34+ iMCs express the matrix metalloproteinases MMP9 and MMP2 and the CC-chemokine receptor 1 (CCR1) and migrate toward the CCR1 ligand CCL9. In adenocarcinomas, expression of CCL9 is increased in the tumor epithelium. By deleting Ccr1 in the background of the cis-Apc/Smad4 mutant, we further show that lack of CCR1 prevents accumulation of CD34+ iMCs at the invasion front and suppresses tumor invasion. These results indicate that loss of transforming growth factor-β family signaling in tumor epithelium causes accumulation of iMCs that promote tumor invasion.
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Acknowledgements
We thank T. Hirai for sectioning the clinical samples. We also thank M. Okabe (Osaka University) for EGFP transgenic mice and P.M. Murphy (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health) for CCR1 knockout mice. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology of Japan (to M.M.T.).
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Fig. 1
Construction of cis-Apc/Smad4. (PDF 120 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 2
CD34+ CD31− cells. (PDF 273 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 3
Expression of CCL9. (PDF 46 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 4
Extent of immune cell infiltration. (PDF 483 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 5
Extent of CD34+ cell accumulation. (PDF 461 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 6
CD34+ cells also express MMP2. (PDF 221 kb)
Supplementary Table 1
Array data for chemokine mRNAs. (PDF 42 kb)
Supplementary Table 2
List of primer sequences. (PDF 29 kb)
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Kitamura, T., Kometani, K., Hashida, H. et al. SMAD4-deficient intestinal tumors recruit CCR1+ myeloid cells that promote invasion. Nat Genet 39, 467–475 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1997
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1997