斯坦福大学Derick Okwan-Duodu小组宣布他们的研究发现线粒体从免疫细胞转移到肿瘤细胞使淋巴结转移成为可能。相关论文于2026年1月12日发表在《细胞—代谢》杂志上。

研究组表明，作为一个共同的属性，肿瘤细胞劫持线粒体从广泛的免疫细胞阵列。免疫细胞的线粒体丢失减少了抗原呈递和共刺激机制，也降低了自然杀伤细胞（NK）和CD8 T细胞的激活和细胞毒性能力。在癌细胞中，外源线粒体与内源线粒体网络结合，将mtDNA泄漏到细胞质中，并刺激cGAS/STING，激活I型干扰素介导的免疫逃避程序。阻断线粒体转移机制（包括cGAS、STING或I型干扰素）可减少癌症转移到淋巴结。这些发现表明，癌细胞利用线粒体劫持来削弱抗肿瘤免疫监视，并使获得的线粒体为淋巴结定植的免疫需求提供燃料。

据介绍，尽管免疫系统是肿瘤生长和扩散的重要屏障，但已形成的肿瘤逃避免疫攻击，并经常在免疫密集的区域（如淋巴结）定居。癌细胞破坏肿瘤免疫微环境以促进扩散到淋巴结的机制尚不完全清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Mitochondrial transfer from immune to tumor cells enables lymph node metastasis

Author: Azusa Terasaki, Keshav Bhatnagar, Alexis T. Weiner, Yuhao Tan, Viktoria Szeifert, Han-Li Huang, Lukas Wiggers, Viviana Rodrigues, Cara C. Rada, Vishnu Shankar, Suguru Saito, Peter Ofori Ankomah, Theodore Roth, Bill Chiu, Robert West, Lingyin Li, Nathan Reticker-Flynn, Jeffrey D. Axelrod, Jonathan R. Brestoff, Bo Li, Edgar Engleman, Derick Okwan-Duodu

Issue&Volume: 2026-01-12

Abstract: Although the immune system is a significant barrier to tumor growth and spread, established tumors evade immune attack and frequently colonize immune populated areas such as the lymph node. The mechanisms by which cancer cells subvert the tumor-immune microenvironment to favor spread to the lymph node remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that, as a common attribute, tumor cells hijack mitochondria from a wide array of immune cells. Mitochondria loss by immune cells decreases antigen-presentation and co-stimulatory machinery, as well as reducing the activation and cytotoxic capacity of natural killer (NK) and CD8 T cells. In cancer cells, the exogenous mitochondria fuse with endogenous mitochondria networks, leak mtDNA into the cytosol, and stimulate cGAS/STING, activating type I interferon-mediated immune evasion programs. Blocking mitochondrial transfer machinery—including cGAS, STING, or type I interferon—reduced cancer metastasis to the lymph node. These findings suggest that cancer cells leverage mitochondria hijacking to weaken anti-tumor immunosurveillance and use the acquired mitochondria to fuel the immunological requirements of lymph node colonization.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.12.014

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131(25)00545-5