Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Enhancing Tumor Content through Tumor Macrodissection
Published on: February 12, 2022
Tumour-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Induce Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Progression Through Macrophage-Mediated
Mengke Liu1, YingYu Dong1, Qixiao Guan2
1Shanghai Institute of Hematology, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, National Research Center for Translational Medicine at Shanghai, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
None:
Elevated peripheral myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) predicted suppressed anti-tumour immunity and poor prognosis in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Here we demonstrated that tumour-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) served as a messenger, delivering cholesterol from lymphoma cells to macrophages. Through internalisation of tumour-derived EVs, macrophages were activated and secreted IL-1β via the NLRP3/IL-1β axis, leading to IL-1β-mediated MDSC expansion, as well as T cell suppression and exhaustion in DLBCL. Furthermore, macrophage depletion in vitro and in vivo impeded MDSC infiltration induced by tumour-derived EVs. Pharmacological inhibition of cholesterol metabolism with metformin suppressed the secretion of EVs from DLBCL cells, accompanied by decreased IL-1β secretion and MDSC accumulation. Thus, we concluded that tumour-derived EVs induce MDSC accumulation in a macrophage-dependent manner and could be targeted by metformin through inhibition of cholesterol biogenesis in DLBCL.
Related Concept Videos
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
The Tumor Microenvironment
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Tumor Progression
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
