Neutrophils oppose uterine epithelial carcinogenesis via debridement of hypoxic tumor cells

Our study demonstrates that neutrophils infiltrate early-stage PTEN-deficient uterine tumors and oppose tumor growth and malignant progression by inducing detachment and ultimately promoting cell death of tumor cells. This RNA-seq study examined the expression profiles of these uterine epithelial tumor cells in the presence versus absence of neutrophil infiltration. Tumor cells from 4-week-old tumor-bearing neutrophil-sufficient versus -deficient mice were isolated by fluorescence activated cell sorting, RNA was isolated, and expression profiles were analyzed by deep sequencing.