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The role of bone marrow adipocytes in cancer progression: the impact of obesity

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Abstract

Bone marrow adipose tissues (BMATs) and their main cellular component, bone marrow adipocytes (BMAds), are found within the bone marrow (BM), which is a niche for the development of hematological malignancies as well as bone metastasis from solid tumors such as breast and prostate cancers. In humans, BMAds are present within the hematopoietic or “red” BMAT and in the “yellow” BMAT where they are more densely packed. BMAds are emerging as new actors in tumor progression; however, there are many outstanding questions regarding their precise role. In this review, we summarized our current knowledge regarding the development, distribution, and regulation by external stimuli of the BMATs in mice and humans and addressed how obesity could affect these traits. We then discussed the specific metabolic phenotype of BMAds that appear to be different from “classical” white adipocytes, since they are devoid of lipolytic function. According to this characterization, we presented how tumor cells affect the in vitro and in vivo phenotype of BMAds and the signals emanating from BMAds that are susceptible to modulate tumor behavior with a specific emphasis on their metabolic crosstalk with cancer cells. Finally, we discussed how obesity could affect this crosstalk. Deciphering the role of BMAds in tumor progression would certainly lead to the identification of new targets in oncology in the near future.

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Funding

Work in our team is supported by the “Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer” (Équipe labélisée) and the “Institut National du Cancer” (INCa PLBio 2020–28).

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  1. Marine Hernandez and Sauyeun Shin contributed equally.

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  1. Institut de Pharmacologie Et Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France

    Marine Hernandez, Sauyeun Shin, Catherine Muller & Camille Attané

  2. Equipe Labellisée Ligue Contre Le Cancer, Toulouse, France

    Marine Hernandez, Sauyeun Shin, Catherine Muller & Camille Attané

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Hernandez, M., Shin, S., Muller, C. et al. The role of bone marrow adipocytes in cancer progression: the impact of obesity. Cancer Metastasis Rev 41, 589–605 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10555-022-10042-6

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