Department of Pathophysiology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, Markey Cancer Center, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
Front Immunol. 2020 Sep 24;11:565165. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.565165. eCollection 2020.
The interaction between cancer cells and immune cells is important for the cancer development. However, much attention has been given to T cells and macrophages. Being the most abundant leukocytes in the blood, the functions of neutrophils in cancer have been underdetermined. They have long been considered an "audience" in the development of cancer. However, emerging evidence indicate that neutrophils are a heterogeneous population with plasticity, and subpopulation of neutrophils (such as low density neutrophils, polymorphonuclear-myeloid-derived suppressor cells) are actively involved in cancer growth and metastasis. Here, we review the current understanding of the role of neutrophils in cancer development, with a specific focus on their pro-metastatic functions. We also discuss the potential and challenges of neutrophils as therapeutic targets. A better understanding the role of neutrophils in cancer will discover new mechanisms of metastasis and develop new immunotherapies by targeting neutrophils.
癌细胞与免疫细胞的相互作用对癌症的发展很重要。然而，人们对 T 细胞和巨噬细胞给予了更多的关注。中性粒细胞是血液中最丰富的白细胞，但其在癌症中的功能尚未确定。长期以来，它们一直被认为是癌症发展中的“旁观者”。然而，新的证据表明，中性粒细胞是一种具有可塑性的异质性群体，中性粒细胞的亚群（如低密度中性粒细胞、多形核髓系来源的抑制细胞）积极参与癌症的生长和转移。在这里，我们综述了目前对中性粒细胞在癌症发展中的作用的认识，特别关注其促转移功能。我们还讨论了中性粒细胞作为治疗靶点的潜力和挑战。更好地了解中性粒细胞在癌症中的作用将发现新的转移机制，并通过靶向中性粒细胞开发新的免疫疗法。
