The Tumor-Associated Macrophage-M2-Cancer Cell Complex and the Observation of Heterogeneous Modification of the Morphological Structure of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Wei-Hua Xiao; Li-Ping Yao; Min Li; Min Wang; Liang Wu; Mao-Fen Jiang; Hai-Fen Ma; Jun-Qiang Li; Guo-Rong Chen

doi:10.2147/OTT.S267157

The Tumor-Associated Macrophage-M2-Cancer Cell Complex and the Observation of Heterogeneous Modification of the Morphological Structure of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Onco Targets Ther. 2020 Oct 30:13:11139-11149. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S267157. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Wei-Hua Xiao¹, Li-Ping Yao², Min Li², Min Wang¹, Liang Wu², Mao-Fen Jiang¹, Hai-Fen Ma¹, Jun-Qiang Li¹, Guo-Rong Chen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Ningbo Beilun People's Hospital, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the tumor-associated macrophage-m2-cancer cell complex (TAM-M2-CC) on the heterostructural modification of lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: The expression of CD163+/CD68+ in macrophages in the microenvironment of 161 cases of lung adenocarcinoma was identified by dual immunohistochemistry, and the association between a TAM-M2-CC and its growth, as well as the histological changes in lung adenocarcinoma cells, was assessed.

Results: The morphological change of lung adenocarcinoma was related to the number of m2 phenotypes of the macrophages in the microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma. TAM-M2-CCs were involved in the process of cancer cell recognition, association, and reconstruction.

Conclusion: The microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma can affect the phenotypic distinction of macrophages, and the polarization recruitment, zombification, and formation of a TAM-M2-CC, which can also affect the local differentiation of lung adenocarcinoma to a certain extent. The applicable pathogenesis needs to be verified and studied further.

Keywords: TAM-M2-CC; heterostructural modification; local differentiation; microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma; phenotypic differentiation; tumor-related macrophage-M2-cancer cell complex.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Natural Project of the Ningbo Science and Technology Bureau (NO.2015A610231). The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.