Study reveals how dead cancer cells help tumors grow

Cancer cells die continuously within tumors, but their removal may have unexpected consequences. Researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University discovered that macrophages - immune cells responsible for clearing dead cells - can be reprogrammed after engulfing dead cancer cells, ultimately supporting tumor growth instead of fighting it.

To investigate this process, Dr. Merav Cohen and her team developed Effero-seq, a novel technology that tracks the molecular changes occurring in macrophages following the clearance of dead cells. The method enabled the researchers to examine, for the first time, how this process reshapes immune cell behavior within the tumor microenvironment.

Using Effero-seq, the researchers found that macrophages that engulf dead cancer cells promote the formation of new blood vessels, become less responsive to anti-tumor immune signals, and are associated with poorer outcomes in patients with uveal melanoma. Remarkably, these tumor-supporting characteristics persisted over time, demonstrating that the cells undergo long-lasting functional reprogramming.

The findings provide new insight into how tumors manipulate the immune system and identify macrophages and efferocytosis as promising targets for future cancer therapies.

Read the full paper:

Efferocytosis induces proangiogenic function and chromatin remodeling in tumor-associated macrophages

Published in: Science Immunology

Authors: Roi Balaban, Ori Moskowitz, Maiia Levinson, Noam Ofer, Alice Raizman, Gaya Levi Kitron, Eden Aviv, Sandra Camargo, Lihi Goldman, Aviv Leemann, Eden Noachas, Chen Sharon-Yagol, Amir Giladi and Merav Cohen

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.aed1544