Established fibrous peritoneal metastasis in an immunocompetent mouse model similar to clinical immune microenvironment of gastric cancer

Background: Peritoneal metastasis (PM) in gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by diffusely infiltrating and proliferating cancer cells accompanied by extensive stromal fibrosis in the peritoneal space. The prognosis of GC with PM is still poor regardless of the various current treatments. In order to elucidate the cause of difficulties in PM treatment, we compared the tumor immune microenvironment (TME) in primary and PM lesions in GC. In addition, a PM model with fibrous stroma was constructed using immunocompetent mice to determine whether its TME was similar to that in patients. Methods: Immuno-histochemical analyses of infiltrating immune cells were performed in paired primary and PM lesions from 28 patients with GC. A C57BL/6 J mouse model with PM was established using the mouse GC cell line YTN16 either with or without co-inoculation of mouse myofibroblast cell line LmcMF with α-SMA expression. The resected PM from each mouse model was analyzed the immunocompetent cells using immunohistochemistry. Results: The number of CD8⁺ cells was significantly lower in PM lesions than in primary lesions (P < 0.01). Conversely, the number of CD163⁺ cells (M2 macrophages) was significantly higher in PM lesions than in primary lesions (P = 0.016). Azan staining revealed that YTN16 and LmcMF co-inoculated tumors were more fibrous than tumor with YTN16 alone (P < 0.05). Co-inoculated fibrous tumor also showed an invasive growth pattern and higher progression than tumor with YTN16 alone (P = 0.045). Additionally, YTN16 and LmcMF co-inoculated tumors showed lower infiltration of CD8⁺ cells and higher infiltration of M2 macrophages than tumors with YTN16 alone (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). These results indicate that LmcMF plays as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) by crosstalk with YTN16 and CAFs contribute tumor progression, invasion, fibrosis, and immune suppression. Conclusions: This model is the first immunocompetent mouse model similar to TME of human clinical PM with fibrosis. By using this model, new treatment strategies for PM, such as anti-CAFs therapies, may be developed.