FSTL1 promotes bone metastasis by causing immune dysfunction

In spite of significant advances in our understanding of the metastatic process, the relationship between the dissemination of primary neoplasms to the bones and antitumor immunity remains poorly understood. We have recently identified follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1), a soluble protein secreted by snail family zinc finger 1 (SNAI1)-expressing cancer cells, as a key determinant of bone metastasis that operates by inducing a systemic state of immune dysfunction.