Our tissues are composed of a highly heterogeneous collection of cells that requires precise organization and maintenance. Various surveillance programs are responsible for guarding the integrity of this complex system. One such mechanism continuously monitors the fitness of cells in a process referred to as ‘cell competition’.
The social interactions between cells, particularly those with different fitness levels, can result in the removal of the least fit cells, or ‘loser cells’. Following loser cell elimination, ‘winner cells’ can reproduce to take their place.
The ability of cells to compare their fitness levels to their neighbors plays a crucial role in a vast variety of biological processes, from ensuring proper embryonic cell divisions to aging. When something goes wrong with this surveillance, a multitude of problems can arise, including diseases like cancer.
Cell competition has a dual role in carcinogenesis. It acts as a tumor-suppressive mechanism when normal cells crowd out or suppress unfit or mutant cells that are potentially tumorigenic. But when a cell acquires a mutation in one of the ~140 oncogenes that gives it a competitive advantage over normal cells, these ‘winners’ can spread and facilitate tumor initiation. Oncogenic winners hijack the mechanism meant to protect the organism and turns it into a cancer-promoting mechanism.
Many fundamental questions remain largely unanswered. How do cells perceive each other’s fitness? How is the winner-loser status established? The authors write that finding these answers will provide essential clues for how to exploit cell competition to improve prevention and treatment not only of cancer, but other disorders such as neurodegenerative disease or organ regeneration after injury.
For more information contact Prof. Louis Vermeulen, or read the publication here:
Sanne M. van Neerven and Louis Vermeulen (2022) Cell competition in development, homeostasis and cancer. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-022-00538-y
People involved at Cancer Center Amsterdam:
Dr. Sanne van Neerven
Prof. Louis Vermeulen
Text by Laura Roy.
This article was created for Cancer Center Amsterdam.
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