scholarly journals A Complex Metabolic Network Confers Immunosuppressive Functions to Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSCs) within the Tumour Microenvironment

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2700
Author(s):  
Francesca Hofer ◽  
Gianna Di Sario ◽  
Chiara Musiu ◽  
Silvia Sartoris ◽  
Francesco De Sanctis ◽  
...  

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) constitute a plastic and heterogeneous cell population among immune cells within the tumour microenvironment (TME) that support cancer progression and resistance to therapy. During tumour progression, cancer cells modify their metabolism to sustain an increased energy demand to cope with uncontrolled cell proliferation and differentiation. This metabolic reprogramming of cancer establishes competition for nutrients between tumour cells and leukocytes and most importantly, among tumour-infiltrating immune cells. Thus, MDSCs that have emerged as one of the most decisive immune regulators of TME exhibit an increase in glycolysis and fatty acid metabolism and also an upregulation of enzymes that catabolise essential metabolites. This complex metabolic network is not only crucial for MDSC survival and accumulation in the TME but also for enhancing immunosuppressive functions toward immune effectors. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the field of MDSC-associated metabolic pathways that could facilitate therapeutic targeting of these cells during cancer progression.

Cancers ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Sophiya Siddiqui ◽  
Rainer Glauben

The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises various cell types, soluble factors, viz, metabolites or cytokines, which together play in promoting tumor metastasis. Tumor infiltrating immune cells play an important role against cancer, and metabolic switching in immune cells has been shown to affect activation, differentiation, and polarization from tumor suppressive into immune suppressive phenotypes. Macrophages represent one of the major immune infiltrates into TME. Blood monocyte-derived macrophages and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) infiltrating into the TME potentiate hostile tumor progression by polarizing into immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Recent studies in the field of immunometabolism focus on metabolic reprogramming at the TME in polarizing tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Lipid droplets (LD), detected in almost every eukaryotic cell type, represent the major source for intra-cellular fatty acids. Previously, LDs were mainly described as storage sites for fatty acids. However, LDs are now recognized to play an integral role in cellular signaling and consequently in inflammation and metabolism-mediated phenotypical changes in immune cells. In recent years, the role of LD dependent metabolism in macrophage functionality and phenotype has been being investigated. In this review article, we discuss fatty acids stored in LDs, their role in modulating metabolism of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and, therefore, in shaping the cancer progression.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. K. Law ◽  
Fatima Valdes-Mora ◽  
David Gallego-Ortega

The emergence of immunotherapy has been an astounding breakthrough in cancer treatments. In particular, immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4, have shown remarkable therapeutic outcomes. However, response rates from immunotherapy have been reported to be varied, with some having pronounced success and others with minimal to no clinical benefit. An important aspect associated with this discrepancy in patient response is the immune-suppressive effects elicited by the tumour microenvironment (TME). Immune suppression plays a pivotal role in regulating cancer progression, metastasis, and reducing immunotherapy success. Most notably, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells, have potent mechanisms to inhibit T-cell and NK-cell activity to promote tumour growth, development of the pre-metastatic niche, and contribute to resistance to immunotherapy. Accumulating research indicates that MDSC can be a therapeutic target to alleviate their pro-tumourigenic functions and immunosuppressive activities to bolster the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we provide an overview of the general immunotherapeutic approaches and discuss the characterisation, expansion, and activities of MDSCs with the current treatments used to target them either as a single therapeutic target or synergistically in combination with immunotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Haiyan Sun ◽  
Ningning Zhu ◽  
Xianxian Wu ◽  
Zhilin Sui ◽  
...  

Adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) is a fatal disease. Accumulating evidence indicates that, for a comprehensive understanding of AEG, studies should be conducted not only to investigate tumor cells, but also the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we collected AEG patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, and used the CIBERSORT algorithm to analyze tumor-infiltrating immune cell profiles. The levels of CD8+ T cells and M0 and M2 macrophages were relatively high in AEG tissues. M2 macrophages were abundant in G3 tumors, and neutrophils were associated with poor prognosis. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) represent a heterogeneous population of immunosuppressive cells which share a similar origin to neutrophils and macrophages. We further analyzed the levels of MDSCs in AEG patients and healthy donors (HD) using flow cytometry. MDSC levels were elevated at tumor sites, with polymorphonuclear MDSCs (PMN-MDSCs) being the predominant subtype. Circulating MDSCs partly represented cells at the tumor site. We observed that PMN-MDSC levels at tumor sites were positively correlated with advanced staging, low grade, lymph node metastasis, and HER2− status. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence analyses indicated that activation of the STAT3 and NF-κB pathways in MDSCs may be a potential mechanism for cancer progression. Our studies provided a comprehensive perspective involving tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and detailed insights into the proportion of MDSCs in AEG and their clinical significance. Together, these findings may improve our current understanding of cancer progression involving tumor-infiltrating immune cells in the TME.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 735-739
Author(s):  
Joanna Mucha ◽  
Tomasz Motyl ◽  
Magdalena Król

For many years research on tumour development focused exclusively on the functions of cancer cells. Less attention was paid to tumour-associated cells, which form the tumour microenvironment. Nowadays we know that inflammatory infiltration cells associated with tumour proliferation may have a pro-tumour or an anti-tumour effect. Current studies are focused on interaction (cross-talk) between cells in the tumour microenvironment. Myeloid suppressor cells (MDSCs) and lymphocytes T are special groups of cells associated with tumour. Interaction between cancer cells, MDSCs and lymphocytes T leads to the development of an immunosuppression network that prevents effective combat against cancer cells and creates conditions favourable for tumour progression, migration and metastasis. The understanding of the crosstalk between cancer cells and immune cells has become the main task of scientists and oncologists.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Eun Irene Yum ◽  
Young-Kwon Hong

VISTA is an up-and-coming immune checkpoint molecule that can become the target of new cancer immunotherapy treatments. Immune cells in the tumor microenvironment can largely influence the progression of cancer through inhibitory and stimulatory pathways. Indeed, VISTA is expressed on many immune cells, including T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumor-associated macrophages, and dendritic cells. VISTA has predominantly been shown to act in an immune-suppressing manner that enables cancer progression. This review will delve into results from preclinical murine studies of anti-VISTA monoclonal antibody treatments, bring together recent studies that detect VISTA expression on immune cells from patient tumors of various cancers, and discuss ongoing clinical trials involving VISTA.


Vaccines ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Umansky ◽  
Carolin Blattner ◽  
Christoffer Gebhardt ◽  
Jochen Utikal

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuji Hayashi ◽  
Kazutoshi Fujita ◽  
Makoto Matsushita ◽  
Norio Nonomura

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among men in many countries. Preventing progression is a major concern for prostate cancer patients on active surveillance, patients with recurrence after radical therapies, and patients who acquired resistance to systemic therapies. Inflammation, which is induced by various factors such as infection, microbiome, obesity, and a high-fat diet, is the major etiology in the development of prostate cancer. Inflammatory cells play important roles in tumor progression. Various immune cells including tumor-associated neutrophils, tumor-infiltrating macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and mast cells promote prostate cancer via various intercellular signaling. Further basic studies examining the relationship between the inflammatory process and prostate cancer progression are warranted. Interventions by medications and diets to control systemic and/or local inflammation might be effective therapies for prostate cancer progression. Epidemiological investigations and basic research using human immune cells or mouse models have revealed that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, metformin, statins, soy isoflavones, and other diets are potential interventions for preventing progression of prostate cancer by suppressing inflammation. It is essential to evaluate appropriate indications and doses of each drug and diet.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Hu ◽  
Bo Pang ◽  
Guangzhu Lin ◽  
Yu Zhen ◽  
Huanfa Yi

AbstractIn recent years, a large number of studies have been carried out in the field of immune metabolism, highlighting the role of metabolic energy reprogramming in altering the function of immune cells. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells generated during a large array of pathological conditions, such as cancer, inflammation, and infection, and show remarkable ability to suppress T-cell responses. These cells can also change their metabolic pathways in response to various pathogen-derived or inflammatory signals. In this review, we focus on the roles of glucose, fatty acid (FA), and amino acid (AA) metabolism in the differentiation and function of MDSCs in the tumour microenvironment, highlighting their potential as targets to inhibit tumour growth and enhance tumour immune surveillance by the host. We further highlight the remaining gaps in knowledge concerning the mechanisms determining the plasticity of MDSCs in different environments and their specific responses in the tumour environment. Therefore, this review should motivate further research in the field of metabolomics to identify the metabolic pathways driving the enhancement of MDSCs in order to effectively target their ability to promote tumour development and progression.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (157) ◽  
pp. 200134
Author(s):  
Xiang Zheng ◽  
Siavash Mansouri ◽  
Annika Krager ◽  
Friedrich Grimminger ◽  
Werner Seeger ◽  
...  

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide. Recent studies demonstrated that the tumour microenvironment (TME) is pivotal for tumour progression, providing multiple targeting opportunities for therapeutic strategies. As one of the most abundant stromal cell types in the TME, tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) exhibit high plasticity. Malignant cells alter their metabolic profiles to adapt to the limited availability of oxygen and nutrients in the TME, resulting in functional alteration of TAMs. The metabolic features of TAMs are strongly associated with their functional plasticity, which further impacts metabolic profiling in the TME and contributes to tumourigenesis and progression. Here, we review the functional determination of the TME by TAM metabolic alterations, including glycolysis as well as fatty acid and amino acid metabolism, which in turn are influenced by environmental changes. Additionally, we discuss metabolic reprogramming of TAMs to a tumouricidal phenotype as a potential antitumoural therapeutic strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Katoh ◽  
Masahiko Watanabe

Development of solid cancer depends on escape from host immunosurveillance. Various types of immune cells contribute to tumor-induced immune suppression, including tumor associated macrophages, regulatory T cells, type 2 NKT cells, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Growing body of evidences shows that MDSCs play pivotal roles among these immunosuppressive cells in multiple steps of cancer progression. MDSCs are immature myeloid cells that arise from myeloid progenitor cells and comprise a heterogeneous immune cell population. MDSCs are characterized by the ability to suppress both adaptive and innate immunities mainly through direct inhibition of the cytotoxic functions of T cells and NK cells. In clinical settings, the number of circulating MDSCs is associated with clinical stages and response to treatment in several cancers. Moreover, MDSCs are reported to contribute to chemoresistant phenotype. Collectively, targeting MDSCs could potentially provide a rationale for novel treatment strategies in cancer. This review summarizes recent understandings of MDSCs in cancer and discusses promissing clinical approaches in cancer patients.


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