Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 18, 2026

A Macrophage-Tumor Spheroid Co-Invasion Assay
Published on: January 24, 2025
Breaking the vicious cycle between breast cancer cells and tumor-associated macrophages
Shicheng Su1, Wei Wu1, Chonghua He1
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation; Medical Research Center ; Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital; Sun Yat-Sen University ; Guangzhou, China ; Breast Tumor Center and Department of Oncology; Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital; Sun Yat-Sen University ; Guangzhou, China.
Abstract:
We recently identified a vicious cycle between granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) arising from breast cancer cells that have undergone epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the tumor-associated macrophage (TAM)-derived chemokine CCL18, a signaling loop that promotes tumor metastasis. Tumor-derived lactate skews GM-CSF-activated macrophages to an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive M2 phenotype, suggesting that breaking this cycle in combination with glycolysis inhibitors may inhibit tumor development.
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