HAO LV¹, BO ZHU^1,2, DEGAO CHEN^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.3, pp. 363-378, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.046367

Abstract Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are emerging as targets for tumor therapy because of their primary role in promoting tumor progression. Several studies have been conducted to target TAMs by reducing their infiltration, depleting their numbers, and reversing their phenotypes to suppress tumor progression, leading to the development of drugs in preclinical and clinical trials. However, the heterogeneous characteristics of TAMs, including their ontogenetic and functional heterogeneity, limit their targeting. Therefore, in-depth exploration of the heterogeneity of TAMs, combined with immune checkpoint therapy or other therapeutic modalities could improve the efficiency of tumor treatment. This review focuses on the heterogeneous ontogeny and… More >

HEE JU SONG, TAEHEE KIM, HAN NA CHOI, SOO JIN KIM, SANG DO LEE^*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 151-161, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030690

Abstract Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among all cancers, in part because it readily metastasizes. The tumor microenvironment, comprising blood vessels, fibroblasts, immune cells, and macrophages [including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)], is closely related to cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion. TAMs secrete several cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, which participate in cancer migration and invasion. p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), an important signaling molecule, induces cell migration and invasion in several carcinomas. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP) is also known to participate in cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion. However, the mechanisms by which it increases lung cancer migration remain unclear. Therefore,… More > Graphic Abstract

JUN SHEN^1,#, HONGFANG MA^2,#, YONGXIA CHEN³, JIANGUO SHEN^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.6, pp. 955-966, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.029638

Abstract The process of lymphatic metastasis was proved to be associated with podoplanin-expressing macrophages in breast cancer (BC). This study aimed to investigate the role of the M2 phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages and mine the key M2 macrophages-related genes for lymph node metastasis in BC. We downloaded the GSE158399 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, which includes transcriptomic profiles of individual cells from primary tumors, negative lymph nodes (NLNs), and positive lymph nodes (PLNs) of breast cancer patients. The cell subsets were identified by clustering analysis after quality control of the scRNA-seq using Seurat. The activation and migration capability… More >

Yi Zheng¹, Youyou Wang², Chen Zou¹, Bicheng Hu², Min Zhao², Xinxing Wu^2,*

Oncologie, Vol.24, No.1, pp. 147-161, 2022, DOI:10.32604/oncologie.2022.019236

Abstract Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are important components in tumor microenvironment. This study intended to explore the influence of TAMs on cervical cancer cells proliferation and migration. The expression levels of TAMs markers, CD68 and CD163, in tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry and increased with the progression of cervical lesions (p < 0.05). TAMs with M2-like phenotype (PMA(Polymethacrylate) induced THP-1 cells) were noticed to promote the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and improve the migration ability of tumor cells. These enhancements were attributed to secreting soluble components and the physical contact between macrophages and tumor cells. The tumor formation and tumor growth… More >