ArticleBMC cancer2017
Adipose tissue fibrosis in human cancer cachexia: the role of TGFβ pathway.
Article in BMC cancer, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers.
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Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tumor-Secreted ADAMTSL4 Activates Latent TGFβ1 to Drive Cancer Cachexia.Cancer discovery · 2026Article
- CNIH4 regulates systemic metabolism and exercise adaptations in male mice primarily through the modulation of β-adrenergic receptor trafficking.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Embryonic sheep placenta alleviates muscle-fat wasting symptoms and improves gut microbiome dysbiosis in cachexia mice.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Article
- Pro-inflammatory cytokine-driven molecular signaling in skeletal muscle during cancer cachexia.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Cancer cachexia induces senescent reprogramming of brown adipose tissue and pro-cachectic S100A9 secretion by adipocytes.Cell death & disease · 2026Article
- Cancer-Associated Cachexia in the Era of Obesity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- Bridging the tumor microenvironment: the pivotal role of cancer-associated fibroblasts in tumor cachexia development.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Review
- Cancer cachexia: multilevel metabolic dysfunction.Nature metabolism · 2024Review
- GRP75 triggers white adipose tissue browning to promote cancer-associated cachexia.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Article
- Salivary Interleukin-13 and Transforming Growth Factor Beta as Potential Biomarkers of Cancer Cachexia.Cancers · 2024Article
- White adipose tissue remodeling in Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2024Article
- Metabolic Effects of Ketogenic Diets: Exploring Whole-Body Metabolism in Connection with Adipose Tissue and Other Metabolic Organs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Understanding cachexia and its impact on lung cancer and beyond.Chinese medical journal pulmonary and critical care medicine · 2024Review
- Immune System Disorder and Cancer-Associated Cachexia.Cancers · 2024Review
- Excessive fat expenditure in MCT-induced heart failure rats is associated with BMAL1/REV-ERBα circadian rhythmic loop disruption.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Molecular Mechanisms of Cachexia: A Review.Cells · 2024Review
- Challenges and opportunities in obesity: the role of adipocytes during tissue fibrosis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Convergent insulin and TGF-β signalling drives cancer cachexia by promoting aberrant fat body ECM accumulation in a Drosophila tumour model.EMBO reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome that dramatically decreases survival. Loss of white adipose tissue (WAT) is one of the key characteristics of cachexia. WAT wasting is paralleled by microarchitectural remodeling in cachectic cancer patients. Fibrosis results from uncontrolled ECM synthesis, a process in which, transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) plays a pivotal role. So far, the mechanisms involved in adipose tissue (AT) re-arrangement, and the role of TGFβ in inducing AT remodeling in weight-losing cancer patients are poorly understood. This study examined the modulation of ECM components mediated by TGFβ pathway in fibrotic AT obtained from cachectic gastrointestinal cancer patients.
methodsAfter signing the informed consent form, patients were enrolled into the following groups: cancer cachexia (CC, n = 21), weight-stable cancer (WSC, n = 17), and control (n = 21). The total amount of collagen and elastic fibers in the subcutaneous AT was assessed by histological analysis and by immunohistochemistry. TGFβ isoforms expression was analyzed by Multiplex assay and by immunohistochemistry. Alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), fibroblast-specific protein (FSP1), Smad3 and 4 were quantified by qPCR and/or by immunohistochemistry. Interleukin (IL) 2, IL5, IL8, IL13 and IL17 content, cytokines known to be associated with fibrosis, was measured by Multiplex assay.
resultsThere was an accumulation of collagen and elastic fibers in the AT of CC, as compared with WSC and controls. Collagens type I, III, VI, and fibronectin expression was enhanced in the tissue of CC, compared with both WSC and control. The pronounced expression of αSMA in the surrounding of adipocytes, and the increased mRNA content for FSP1 (20-fold) indicate the presence of activated myofibroblasts; particularly in CC. TGFβ1 and TGFβ3 levels were up-regulated by cachexia in AT, as well in the isolated adipocytes. Smad3 and Smad4 labeling was found to be more evident in the fibrotic areas of CC adipose tissue.
conclusionsCancer cachexia promotes the development of AT fibrosis, in association with altered TGFβ signaling, compromising AT organization and function.
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