ArticleFrontiers in oncology2021
3D Extracellular Matrix Regulates the Activity of T Cells and Cancer Associated Fibroblasts in Breast Cancer.
Article in Frontiers in oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between tumor-stromal collagen features and the clinical outcomes of patients with breast cancer: a systematic review.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2025Pooled it
- xCELLigence™ RTCA system in cancer biology: innovations in real-time functional profiling.Cytotechnology · 2026Review
- Decoding the Collagenome in Breast Cancer: Mechanotransduction, Microenvironment, and Translational Opportunities.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Macrophage-derived dendritic cells enhance antitumor immunity in a mouse model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Article
- Crosstalk between heterogeneous cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations and the immune system in breast cancer: key players and promising therapeutic targets.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2025Review
- Breast cancer patient-derived scaffolds enhance the understanding of PD-L1 regulation and T cell cytotoxicity.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Convergent inducers and effectors of T cell paralysis in the tumour microenvironment.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2025Review
- Adaptive immunity of materials: Implications for tissue healing and regeneration.Bioactive materials · 2024Review
- Association between breastfeeding, mammographic density, and breast cancer risk: a review.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Review
- Biophysical perspectives to understanding cancer-associated fibroblasts.APL bioengineering · 2024Review
- Mechanical forces amplify TCR mechanotransduction in T cell activation and function.Applied physics reviews · 2024Review
- Crosstalk and plasticity driving between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor microenvironment: significance of breast cancer metastasis.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Review
- Resveratrol Modulates Chemosensitisation to 5-FU via β1-Integrin/HIF-1α Axis in CRC Tumor Microenvironment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- β1-Integrin plays a major role in resveratrol-mediated anti-invasion effects in the CRC microenvironment.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreast cancer progression has been gradually recognized as a bidirectional interaction between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment including stroma cells, immune cells, and the dynamically altered ECM. However, there still lacks direct experimental evidences about how ECM properties modulate the activities of stroma and immune cells.
methodThe transcriptomic data and corresponding clinical information of breast cancer pawere obtained from TCGA. Patients were divided into ECM-high, ECM-median and ECM-low groups based on ssGSEA scores of C-ECM genes. The prognostic value of ECM was confirmed by univariate/multivariate Cox regression and survival analyses. GO and KEGG analyses were performed between ECM-high and -low groups. Then associations between ECM characteristics and clinical stages were verified by Masson's trichrome and Sirius red/Fast Green staining of clinical breast cancer tissues. To evaluate the effects of ECM on CAF induction and T cell activation, the MRC-5, NIH/3T-3, primary T cells and Jurkat T cells were encapsulated in 3D collagen with different densities and organizations, and the expression levels of CAF biomarkers and secretion levels of IL-2 were assessed.
resultsECM scores showed broad variation across paracancerous and cancer samples as well as breast cancer molecular subtypes, and patients with different ECM groups showed distinct prognosis. Immunological activity and ECM associated biology processes were identified by GO and KEGG analyses across ECM-high and -low groups. According to MCP-counter algorithm, the infiltration of T cells was significantly lower in the ECM-high group, while CAF abundance was significantly higher. It is furtherly confirmed by clinical samples that collagen density and organization were associate with breast cancer progression. Finally,
conclusionOur study revealed a new mechanism of T cell immunosuppression and CAF induction, which could be of central importance for the breast cancer invasion and may constitute novel therapeutic targets to improve breast cancer outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.