Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41632530›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2026

The CHI3L1-neutrophil axis drives immune suppression and breast cancer metastatic dissemination.

Tarek Taifour, Adéline Massé, Yu Gu, Virginie Sanguin-Gendreau, Dongmei Zuo, Bin Xiao, Emilie Solymoss, Yunyun Shen, Hailey Proud, Sherif Samer Attalla and 11 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Tarek TaifourMcGill University, Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Adéline MasséRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Yu GuRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Virginie Sanguin-GendreauRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Dongmei ZuoRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Bin XiaoRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Emilie SolymossMcGill University, Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Yunyun ShenRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Hailey ProudRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sherif Samer AttallaRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Vasilios PapavasiliouRosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nancy U LinDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Melissa E HughesDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Kalie SmithDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Chun Geun LeeBrown University, Molecular Biology and Immunology, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Suchitra KamleBrown University, Molecular Biology and Immunology, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Josie Ursini-SiegelMcGill University, Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Jack A EliasBrown University, Molecular Biology and Immunology, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Peter M SiegelMcGill University, Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Rinath JeselsohnDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
William J MullerMcGill University, Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immunosuppression and metastasis are critical hallmarks of breast cancer, often linked to poor patient outcomes. The secreted cytokine chitinase-3-like 1 (CHI3L1) is frequently overexpressed in breast cancer samples and promotes an immunosuppressed tumor microenvironment. Notably, CHI3L1 expression is elevated in metastatic patient samples when compared with the matched primary breast tumor. To investigate its role in breast cancer metastasis, we generated an inducible genetically engineered mouse model that overexpresses CHI3L1 in the mammary epithelium. Ectopic expression of CHI3L1 in the polyomavirus middle T (PyMT) mouse model of breast cancer suppressed antitumor immune responses, accelerated mammary tumor onset, and enhanced lung metastasis. Mechanistically, elevated CHI3L1 expression in the mammary epithelium enhanced neutrophil recruitment, which subsequently degraded the extracellular matrix and increased the number of circulating tumor cells. These findings reveal a key mechanism driving metastatic dissemination and argue that therapeutically targeting Chi3l1 could enhance antitumor immunity and suppress metastasis.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsChitinase-3-Like Protein 1Lung NeoplasmsNeutrophilsAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansMiceNeoplasm MetastasisTumor MicroenvironmentCHI3L1 protein, humanChil1 protein, mouseChitinase-3-Like Protein 1Breast cancerExtracellular matrixImmunologyNeutrophilsOncology

Identifiers

PMID41632530
PMCPMC13043092

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.