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Tumor cells educate mesenchymal stromal cells to release chemoprotective and immunomodulatory factors
Augustin Le Naour1,2,† , Mélissa Prat3,† , Benoît Thibault1,2 , Renaud Mével1,2 , Léa Lemaitre1,2 , Hélène Leray1,2 , Marie-Véronique Joubert1,2 , Kimberley Coulson3 , Muriel Golzio4 , Lise Lefevre3 , Eliane Mery1 , Alejandra Martinez1 , Gwénaël Ferron1 , Jean-Pierre Delord1,2 , Agnès Coste3,† , Bettina Couderc1,2,†,*
1Institut Claudius Regaud –IUCT Oncopole, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
2INSERM UMR 1037, Cancer Research Center of Toulouse (CRCT), Toulouse, France
3UMR 152 Pharma Dev, Université de Toulouse, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
4UMR CNRS 5089, Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS), Toulouse, France
These authors contributed equally to this work.
*Correspondence to:Bettina Couderc , Email:Couderc.bettina@iuct-oncopole.fr
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 12, Issue 3, March 2020, 202-215,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjz090
Keyword: chemoresistance, macrophages, mesenchymal stromal cells, ovarian adenocarcinoma, chemokines

Factors released by surrounding cells such as cancer-associated mesenchymal stromal cells (CA-MSCs) are involved in tumor progression and chemoresistance. In this study, we characterize the mechanisms by which naïve mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can acquire a CA-MSCs phenotype. Ovarian tumor cells trigger the transformation of MSCs to CA-MSCs by expressing pro-tumoral genes implicated in the chemoresistance of cancer cells, resulting in the secretion of high levels of CXC chemokine receptors 1 and 2 (CXCR1/2) ligands such as chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1), CXCL2, and interleukin 8 (IL-8). CXCR1/2 ligands can also inhibit the immune response against ovarian tumor cells. Indeed, through their released factors, CA-MSCs promote the differentiation of monocytes towards M2 macrophages, which favors tumor progression. When CXCR1/2 receptors are inhibited, these CA-MSC-activated macrophages lose their M2 properties and acquire an anti-tumoral phenotype. Both ex vivo and in vivo, we used a CXCR1/2 inhibitor to sensitize ovarian tumor cells to carboplatin and circumvent the pro-tumoral effects of CA-MSCs. Since high concentrations of CXCR1/2 ligands in patients’ blood are associated with chemoresistance, CXCR1/2 inhibition could be a potential therapeutic strategy to revert carboplatin resistance.