Figure 7.

Schematic model of colorectal cancer with lower and higher MTA1 expression. Summary of the main conclusions from this study. In brief, MTA1 was found to rewire the transcriptome and proteome of colorectal cells to promote an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. MTA1-overexpressing colon cancer cells significantly decreased the expression levels of the CCR2 ligands CCL2 and CCL7, among others, which were able to attract macrophages. This microenvironment of MTA1-overexpressing colorectal cancer ultimately leads to CD8 T cell enrichment but a lack of classical macrophages. Macrophages enhanced the cytotoxic effect of T cells while enhancing the interaction of T cells and cancer cells. In MTA1-overexpressing colorectal cancer, the absence of macrophages impaired the cytotoxic effect of T cells, decreased the interaction of T cells and cancer cells, and finally resulted in an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.