Distinct populations of tumor associated macrophages in colorectal liver metastasis

Abstract

Background: Most colorectal cancer (CRC) related mortality is due to metastatic disease and colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) are the most common site of metastases. Despite the high incidence of CRLM, little is known about the role of tumor microenvironment (TME) as a driver of metastatic progression. Here in, we performed an in-depth analysis of the transcriptional landscape of CRC metastases using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq), to evaluate the functional heterogeneity and phenotypic diversity of tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) in CRC metastases.