Cross-talk between ovarian cancer cells and macrophages through periostin promotes macrophage recruitment

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to tumor progression, but it is not clear how they are recruited to tumor sites. Here we showed that periostin (POSTN) was present at high levels in ovarian cancer ascetic fluids and was correlated with CD163⁺ TAMs. The high POSTN level and macrophage infiltration were inversely associated with relapse-free survival for ovarian cancer patients. In vitro studies showed that coculture with macrophages significantly increased POSTN production in ovarian cancer cells. Further investigation found that POSTN production in ovarian cancer cells was promoted by transforming growth factor-β generated by macrophages. Moreover, siRNA of POSTN and POSTN neutralizing antibody treatment showed that ovarian cancer cell-derived POSTN promoted the recruitment of macrophages and modulated their cytokine secretion profile. Collectively, these data indicated that POSTN was an important factor for macrophage recruitment in the tumor microenvironment and is involved in the interactions between macrophages and ovarian cancer cells.