RNAseq analysis of human macrophages differentiated from monocytes exposed to extracellular vesicles from tumor cells or recombinant CSF-1

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs), which differentiate from circulating monocytes, are pervasive across human cancers and comprise heterogeneous populations. The contribution of tumor-derived signals to TAM heterogeneity is not well understood. In particular, tumors release both soluble factors and extracellular vesicles (EVs), whose respective impact on TAM precursors may be different. Here, we show that triple negative breast cancer cells (TNBC) release EVs and soluble molecules promoting monocyte differentiation towards distinct macrophage fates. Human CD14+ monocytes were cultured with extracellular vesicles from MDA-MB-231 tumor cells (0.02 ng/ml) or recombinant CSF-1 (100 ng/ml) for 5 days.