CD47 in Osteosarcoma: Correlation with Metastasis and Macrophage-Mediated Phagocytosis

CD47 is expressed on cell surfaces and acts as a “don’t eat me” signal by interacting with signal-regulatory protein-α on the macrophage surface. Some cancer cells express CD47 protein and can evade macrophage phagocytosis. Herein, we evaluated the feasibility of targeting CD47 for osteosarcoma by analyzing its expression patterns, clinicopathological correlations, and immunotherapeutic potential. We performed a retrospective analysis on 24 biopsy samples from patients with osteosarcoma to investigate correlations between CD47 protein positivity and clinicopathological characteristics. CD47 protein expression was detected in 20.8% of the biopsy samples. CD47 positivity correlated with metastasis at diagnosis. Patients with CD47-positive tumors were older than those with CD47-negative tumors. However, CD47 protein expression was not associated with sex, tumor size, or histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy. In vitro, CD47 antibody (B6H12) did not affect osteosarcoma cell viability or apoptosis. In a wound-healing assay, CD47 inhibited the migration of osteosarcoma cells. Differentiated macrophages exhibited higher phagocytic activity against osteosarcoma cells when pretreated with B6H12 compared with the isotype control. Our preliminary data suggest a possible interaction between CD47 protein and macrophage phagocytosis in osteosarcoma metastasis. A better understanding of the role of CD47 is necessary to develop an innovative immunotherapeutic approach against osteosarcoma.