Radiation Biology & Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.
Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, India.
Results Probl Cell Differ. 2024;74:213-238. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-65944-7_8.
Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are one of the most prominent immune cells in the breast tumor microenvironment (TME). TAMs are categorised into classically activated anti-tumorigenic M1 and alternatively activated pro-tumorigenic M2 macrophages. TAMs are known to promote cancer pathogenesis by facilitating cancer cell and cancer stem cell growth, angiogenesis, immune evasion, invasion, and migration. Consequently, TAMs drive cancer progression towards metastasis. This chapter describes the role of TME in driving monocyte recruitment and polarization toward the M2 phenotype. We also illustrate the modalities of intercellular networking such as paracrine signaling, exosomes, and tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) that TAMs and cancer cells employ within TME to communicate with each other and with other cells of TME to facilitate the dynamic process of cancer progression. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications of TAMs in breast cancer and potential therapeutic strategies targeting TAM recruitment, polarization, and TAM-mediated immune evasion for effective cancer therapy.
肿瘤相关巨噬细胞（TAMs）是乳腺肿瘤微环境（TME）中最突出的免疫细胞之一。TAMs 可分为经典激活的抗肿瘤 M1 和选择性激活的促肿瘤 M2 巨噬细胞。TAMs 通过促进癌细胞和癌症干细胞生长、血管生成、免疫逃逸、侵袭和迁移来促进癌症发病机制。因此，TAMs 推动癌症向转移发展。本章描述了 TME 在驱动单核细胞募集和向 M2 表型极化中的作用。我们还说明了细胞间网络的模式，如旁分泌信号、外泌体和隧道纳米管（TNTs），TAMs 和癌细胞在 TME 中利用这些模式相互交流，并与 TME 中的其他细胞交流，以促进癌症进展的动态过程。最后，我们讨论了 TAMs 在乳腺癌中的临床意义以及针对 TAM 募集、极化和 TAM 介导的免疫逃逸的潜在治疗策略，以实现有效的癌症治疗。
