Inhibition of macrophage polarization prohibits growth of human osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most malignant bone tumor characterized by high local aggressiveness and poor therapeutic outcome. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) have been shown to participate in the development and progress of many types of cancer cells. However, whether TAM may play a role in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma is largely unknown. In a mouse model of human osteosarcoma implantation, we showed that the recruited macrophages at the site of the implanted tumor were polarized to an M2 subtype (same as TAM) during the development and growth of the osteosarcoma. In a loss-of-function experiment, we deleted these TAM with a specific macrophage-eliminating liposome, which resulted in decreased tumor growth. Moreover, when the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the implanted cancer cells was inhibited by shRNA, the tumor failed to grow in response to the recruited macrophages. Taken together, for the first time, we show that the growth of an osteosarcoma is EGFR signaling-dependent and TAM-mediated. Our data suggest that TAM and EGFR may be good targets for treating human osteosarcoma.