The invasive leading edge represents a potential gateway for tumor invasion. We hypothesize that crosstalk between tumor and stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) results in the activation of key biological pathways depending on their location in the tumor (edge vs core). Here, we highlight phenotypic differences between Tumor-Adjacent-Fibroblasts (TAFs) from the invasive edge and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) from the tumor core, established from human lung adenocarcinomas. We use an innovative multi-omics approach that includes genomics, proteomics and, O-glycoproteomics to characterize crosstalk between TAFs and cancer cells. Our analysis shows that O-glycosylation, an essential post-translational modification resulting from sugar metabolism, alters key biological pathways including the CDK4-pRB axis in the stroma, and indirectly modulates pro-invasive features of cancer cells. In summary, aside from improving the efficacy of CDK4 inhibitors anti-cancer agents, the O-glycoproteome poses a new consideration for important biological processes involved in tumor-stroma crosstalk.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.