A study at MedUni Vienna's Department of Dermatology provides insights into the diversity of cancer-associated fibroblasts in white and black skin cancer and describes their different immunomodulatory roles in the tumor environment. The results are relevant for the development of novel skin cancer therapies, particularly in the field of immunotherapy . The study was recently published in the journal "Nature Communications".
Fibroblasts are specialized cells in connective tissues that play an important role in wound healing and tissue repair. They produce and organize the so-called extracellular matrix, a network of proteins such as collagen, which makes the tissue stable and elastic, but also perform many other tasks. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are an important component in solid tumors.
They play a decisive role in cancer development and have a significant influence on the success of therapy. A study at MedUni Vienna's Department of Dermatology was the first to investigate the previously unknown diversity of CAFs in various types of skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma - at molecular and spatial level in single-cell analysis. Through a comprehensive study of fibroblasts in the tumor environment, including their interaction with other cells such as epithelial, mesenchymal and immune cells, three clearly distinguishable subtypes of CAFs (cancer-associated fibroblasts) were identified: myofibroblast-like RGS5+ CAFs, matrix CAFs (mCA.