Seminar

The pro-inflammatory cytokine Oncostatin M promotes cancer progression by reprograming the tumor microenvironment

Maria Muñoz Caffarel

The tumour microenvironment (TME) is reprogrammed by cancer cells and participates in all stages of tumour progression. The contribution of stromal cells to the reprogramming of the TME is not well-understood. Our laboratory has recently identified the cytokine Oncostatin M (OSM) as central node for multicellular interactions between immune and nonimmune stromal cells and the epithelial cancer cell compartment. Oncostatin M Receptor (OSMR) deletion in a multistage breast cancer model halts tumour progression. We ascribed causality to the stromal function of OSM axis by demonstrating reduced tumour burden of syngeneic tumours implanted in mice lacking OSMR. Single-cell and bioinformatic analysis of murine and human breast tumours revealed that OSM expression is restricted to myeloid cells, whereas OSMR is detected predominantly in fibroblasts and, to a lower extent, cancer cells. Collectively, our data support that stromal OSM:OSMR axis reprograms the immune and non-immune microenvironment and plays a key role in breast cancer progression. During this talk, I will present these results and other projects from the laboratory including the involvement of cytokine signalling in hypoxia, integrin signalling, ECM remodelling and metastasis. Brief CV Maria works as a Principal Investigator (Ikerbasque and Miguel Servet Fellow) in Biodonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastian, Spain, where she leads the Breast Cancer Group since 2020. Her research is focused on the role of inflammation in breast cancer progression, in order to design new therapeutic strategies. Maria got her PhD in Madrid (Universidad Complutense), where she characterised the anti-tumour effect of cannabinoids in breast cancer, and spent 5,5 years as a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge (UK) working on different projects focused on breast and cervical cancer and JAK-STAT signalling. She is a member of ASEICA (Spanish Association for Cancer Researcher) Board of Directors, where she coordinates ASEICA Young. Maria is also President of the Biodonostia Gender Equality Committee and enjoys participating in outreach and science dissemination activities with cancer patients’ charities and the general public.