Tumor-associated macrophages in tumor metastasis: biological roles and clinical therapeutic applications

Tumor metastasis is a major contributor to the death of cancer patients. It is driven not only by the intrinsic alterations in tumor cells, but also by the implicated cross-talk between cancer cells and their altered microenvironment components. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the key cells...

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Published inJournal of hematology and oncology Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 76
Main Authors Lin, Yuxin, Xu, Jianxin, Lan, Huiyin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England BioMed Central Ltd 12.07.2019
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects
Angiogenesis
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer cells
Cancer metastasis
Cancer patients
Cancer treatment
Care and treatment
Chemokines
Cytokines
Death
Development and progression
Gene expression
Genetic aspects
Genotype & phenotype
Growth factors
Hematology
Immune checkpoint
Immunotherapy
Inflammation
Lymphocytes T
Macrophages
Metastases
Metastasis
Methods
Oncology
Physiological aspects
Polarization
Proteins
Researchers
Review
Reviews
Stem cells
T cells
TAMs
Therapeutic applications
TME
Tumor cells
Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
Tumorigenesis
Tumors
China
Polarization
Metastasis
TAMs
Macrophages
TME
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Summary:Tumor metastasis is a major contributor to the death of cancer patients. It is driven not only by the intrinsic alterations in tumor cells, but also by the implicated cross-talk between cancer cells and their altered microenvironment components. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the key cells that create an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by producing cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and triggering the inhibitory immune checkpoint proteins release in T cells. In doing so, TAMs exhibit important functions in facilitating a metastatic cascade of cancer cells and, meanwhile, provide multiple targets of certain checkpoint blockade immunotherapies for opposing tumor progression. In this article, we summarize the regulating networks of TAM polarization and the mechanisms underlying TAM-facilitated metastasis. Based on the overview of current experimental evidence dissecting the critical roles of TAMs in tumor metastasis, we discuss and prospect the potential applications of TAM-focused therapeutic strategies in clinical cancer treatment at present and in the future.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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ISSN:1756-8722
1756-8722
DOI:10.1186/s13045-019-0760-3