About this Research Topic
The field of cancer biology is increasingly focusing on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and its role in tumor immunity. The ECM undergoes significant changes during cancer development, progression, and metastasis, contributing to the heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment (TME). This heterogeneity is crucial as it influences immune cell behavior, including proliferation, plasticity, maturation, activation, and spatial distribution within tumor tissues. Despite its importance, the ECM's role in tumor immunity has been underexplored. Recent studies have highlighted the impact of ECM stiffness on immune responses, underscoring the need for a comprehensive understanding of ECM-immune cell interactions. The advent of omics approaches, such as genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, has provided new insights into these complex interactions. These integrative methods allow for a multi-layered analysis of ECM-driven tumor immunity, revealing heterogeneity in cell-matrix interactions and regulatory mechanisms that single-layer analyses might miss. However, there remains a gap in fully understanding how these interactions can be leveraged for therapeutic advancements in cancer treatment.
This research topic aims to provide a platform for exploring the significance, recent advancements, challenges, and future directions of ECM heterogeneity in tumor immunity. The primary objective is to investigate the ECM-immune cell crosstalk within the TME and its implications for cancer pathogenesis. By focusing on innovations and interventions through omics technologies, the research seeks to uncover the interplay between tumor immunity and the ECM. Additionally, the goal is to identify potential therapeutic targets within the heterogeneous ECM-immune networks and explore how omics data can enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. The research will also consider advanced theoretical analyses utilizing artificial intelligence, provided they are supported by sufficient validation, such as clinical data.
To gather further insights into the complex interplay between the ECM and tumor immunity, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Harnessing omics to decipher the hallmarks of heterogeneity in ECM-immune cell crosstalk.
- Exploring the uncharted interplay between cancer immunity and ECM heterogeneity.
- Omics-guided search for predictive biomarkers in ECM remodeling within the immunosuppressive TME.
- Omics-wide approach to characterize altered ECM dynamics reshaping tumor immunity.
- ECM dynamics as a modulator of the immune cell transcriptome, proteome, secretome, and metabolism.
- Spatial biology of the TME: ECM-immune cell interplay.
- Omics approaches to identify targetable dysregulation in the ECM-immunity network.
- Involving artificial intelligence in integrative omics approaches to decipher ECM and tumor heterogeneity in cancer.
- Harnessing ECM to improve the efficacy of immunotherapies.
This research topic aims to provide a platform for exploring the significance, recent advancements, challenges, and future directions of ECM heterogeneity in tumor immunity. The primary objective is to investigate the ECM-immune cell crosstalk within the TME and its implications for cancer pathogenesis. By focusing on innovations and interventions through omics technologies, the research seeks to uncover the interplay between tumor immunity and the ECM. Additionally, the goal is to identify potential therapeutic targets within the heterogeneous ECM-immune networks and explore how omics data can enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy. The research will also consider advanced theoretical analyses utilizing artificial intelligence, provided they are supported by sufficient validation, such as clinical data.
To gather further insights into the complex interplay between the ECM and tumor immunity, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Harnessing omics to decipher the hallmarks of heterogeneity in ECM-immune cell crosstalk.
- Exploring the uncharted interplay between cancer immunity and ECM heterogeneity.
- Omics-guided search for predictive biomarkers in ECM remodeling within the immunosuppressive TME.
- Omics-wide approach to characterize altered ECM dynamics reshaping tumor immunity.
- ECM dynamics as a modulator of the immune cell transcriptome, proteome, secretome, and metabolism.
- Spatial biology of the TME: ECM-immune cell interplay.
- Omics approaches to identify targetable dysregulation in the ECM-immunity network.
- Involving artificial intelligence in integrative omics approaches to decipher ECM and tumor heterogeneity in cancer.
- Harnessing ECM to improve the efficacy of immunotherapies.
Keywords: Omics, Extracellular matrix, Heterogeneity, Tumor, Immunity
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
