title: Characteristics and Significance of the Pre-metastatic Niche.
abstract: Primary tumors create a favorable microenvironment, namely, pre-metastatic niche, in secondary organs and tissue sites for subsequent metastases. The pre-metastatic niche can be primed and established through a complex interplay among primary tumor-derived factors, tumor-mobilized bone marrow-derived cells, and local stromal components. We review here our current understanding of the key components and underlying mechanisms for pre-metastatic niche formation. We propose six characteristics that define the pre-metastatic niche, which enable tumor cell colonization and promote metastasis, including immunosuppression, inflammation, angiogenesis/vascular permeability, lymphangiogenesis, organotropism, and reprogramming. We highlight the significance of the pre-metastatic niche, and discuss potential implications and future research directions.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Department of Immunology, Center for Immunotherapy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Department of Immunology, Center for Immunotherapy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China; National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology & Institute of Immunology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. Electronic address: caoxt@immunol.org.
authors.forename: Xuetao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
keywords: cancer intervention; immunosuppression; inflammation; metastasis; pre-metastatic niche; tumor-host interaction