Tissue-resident macrophages in omentum promote metastatic spread of ovarian cancer

Anders Etzerodt, Morgane Moulin, Thomas Koed Doktor, Marcello Delfini, Noushin Mossadegh‐Keller, Marc Bajénoff, Michael H. Sieweke, Søren K. Moestrup, Nathalie Auphan‐Anezin, Toby Lawrence
In: Journal of Experimental Medicine · 2020 · vol. 217(4) · doi:10.1084/jem.20191869 · PMID:31951251 · W2999745029
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 6 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

Resident omental macrophages (CD163+ Tim4+) promote ovarian cancer metastasis by creating a premetastatic niche, and their depletion halts tumor progression and spread.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Experimental and clinical evidence suggests that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play important roles in cancer progression. Here, we have characterized the ontogeny and function of TAM subsets in a mouse model of metastatic ovarian cancer that is representative for visceral peritoneal metastasis. We show that the omentum is a critical premetastatic niche for development of invasive disease in this model and define a unique subset of CD163+ Tim4+ resident omental macrophages responsible for metastatic spread of ovarian cancer cells. Transcriptomic analysis showed that resident CD163+ Tim4+ omental macrophages were phenotypically distinct and maintained their resident identity during tumor growth. Selective depletion of CD163+ Tim4+ macrophages in omentum using genetic and pharmacological tools prevented tumor progression and metastatic spread of disease. These studies describe a specific role for tissue-resident macrophages in the invasive progression of metastatic ovarian cancer. The molecular pathways of cross-talk between tissue-resident macrophages and disseminated cancer cells may represent new targets to prevent metastasis and disease recurrence.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood (sparse)

Too few in-corpus citations on either side for a chart; here are the lists.

Cited by (4)

References (92)

Cited by (4)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK