Muliawan Gregory Kenneth, Lee Terence Kin-Wah
Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Immunol. 2024 May 29;15:1400112. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1400112. eCollection 2024.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide and has a poor prognosis. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have entered a new era of HCC treatment, their response rates are modest, which can be attributed to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment within HCC tumors. Accumulating evidence has shown that tumor growth is fueled by cancer stem cells (CSCs), which contribute to therapeutic resistance to the above treatments. Given that CSCs can regulate cellular and physical factors within the tumor niche by secreting various soluble factors in a paracrine manner, there have been increasing efforts toward understanding the roles of CSC-derived secretory factors in creating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this review, we provide an update on how these secretory factors, including growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and exosomes, contribute to the immunosuppressive TME, which leads to immune resistance. In addition, we present current therapeutic strategies targeting CSC-derived secretory factors and describe future perspectives. In summary, a better understanding of CSC biology in the TME provides a rational therapeutic basis for combination therapy with ICIs for effective HCC treatment.
肝细胞癌(HCC)是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,预后较差。尽管免疫检查点抑制剂已开启HCC治疗的新时代,但其缓解率一般,这可能归因于HCC肿瘤内的免疫抑制性肿瘤微环境。越来越多的证据表明,肿瘤干细胞(CSC)推动肿瘤生长,导致对上述治疗产生耐药性。鉴于CSC可通过旁分泌方式分泌各种可溶性因子来调节肿瘤微环境中的细胞和物理因素,人们越来越致力于了解CSC衍生的分泌因子在创建免疫抑制性肿瘤微环境中的作用。在本综述中,我们介绍了这些分泌因子,包括生长因子、细胞因子、趋化因子和外泌体,如何导致免疫抑制性肿瘤微环境从而引发免疫抵抗的最新进展。此外,我们介绍了目前针对CSC衍生分泌因子的治疗策略,并描述了未来前景。总之,更好地了解肿瘤微环境中的CSC生物学为联合使用免疫检查点抑制剂进行有效的HCC治疗提供了合理的治疗基础。
Exp Hematol Oncol. 2024-4-12
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