ChemoNETosis: A road to tumor therapeutic resistance

Phei Er Saw1, Jianing Chen2, Erwei Song3

  • 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for RNA Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China.

Cancer Cell
|April 10, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Chemotherapy can trigger neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a form of cell death that promotes tumor growth and chemoresistance. Targeting these inflammatory NETs offers a new strategy for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are involved in infection control.
  • Recent findings suggest NETs contribute to tumor metastasis.
  • The role of NETs in chemotherapy response is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of chemotherapy-induced inflammation in cancer treatment.
  • To elucidate the mechanism by which NETs affect chemoresistance.
  • To identify therapeutic targets within the NETosis pathway.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized mouse models of malignant tumors.
  • Analyzed the impact of chemotherapy on NET formation.
  • Assessed the correlation between NETosis and tumor chemoresistance.

Main Results:

  • Chemotherapy induces inflammation that promotes NETosis in tumors.
  • NETosis was found to confer resistance to chemotherapy.
  • Targeting inflammatory NETs presents a potential therapeutic strategy.

Conclusions:

  • Chemotherapy-induced inflammation and NETosis contribute to chemoresistance.
  • NETs represent a druggable target for improving cancer therapy outcomes.

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