Tumor cells expressing membrane-bound tumor necrosis factor activate macrophages and have a compromised growth in immunosuppressed and immunodeficient mice

The Formation and Therapeutic Update of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Cervical Cancer

Both clinicopathological and experimental studies have suggested that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a key role in cervical cancer progression and are associated with poor prognosis in the respects of tumor cell proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and immunosuppression. Therefore, having a clear understanding of TAMs is essential in treating this disease. In this review, we will discuss the origins and categories of macrophages, the molecules responsible for forming and reeducating TAMs in cervical cancer (CC), the biomarkers of macrophages and the therapy development targeting TAMs in CC research.

Forward and Reverse Signaling Mediated by Transmembrane Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha and TNF Receptor 2: Potential Roles in an Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine produced mainly by activated macrophages, lymphocytes and other cell types. Two distinct forms of TNF-α have been identified: soluble TNF-α (sTNF-α) and transmembrane TNF-α (mTNF-α). mTNF-α, which is the precursor of sTNF-α, can be cleaved by the TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE) and is released as sTNF-α. sTNF-α binds primarily to TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) and plays an important role in the inflammatory immune response, whereas mTNF-α interacts primarily with TNF receptor 2 (TNFR2) and mediates the promotion of cellular proliferation and survival and other biological effects. It has been reported that the interaction between mTNF-α and TNFR2 induces bi-directional (forward and reverse) signaling in both mTNF-α- and TNFR2-expressing cells. Increasing evidence shows that the forward and reverse signaling mediated by mTNF-α and TNFR2 might play a significant role in the tumor microenvironment. In this review, the role of the crosstalk between mTNF-α and TNFR2 in the tumor microenvironment will be discussed.

Tumor necrosis factor and cancer, buddies or foes?

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays important roles in diverse cellular events such as cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and death. As a pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF is secreted by inflammatory cells, which may be involved in inflammation-associated carcinogenesis. TNF exerts its biological functions through activating distinct signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). NF-kappaB is a major cell survival signal that is anti-apoptotic, whereas sustained JNK activation contributes to cell death. The crosstalk between the NF-kappaB and JNK is involved in determining cellular outcomes in response to TNF. In regard to cancer, TNF is a double-dealer. On one hand, TNF could be an endogenous tumor promoter, because TNF stimulates the growth, proliferation, invasion and metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis of cancer cells. On the other hand, TNF could be a cancer killer. The property of TNF in inducing cancer cell death renders it a potential cancer therapeutic, although much work is needed to reduce its toxicity for systematic TNF administration. Recent studies have focused on sensitizing cancer cells to TNF-induced apoptosis through inhibiting survival signals such as NF-kappaB, by combined therapy. In this article we provide an overview of the roles of TNF-induced signaling pathways in cancer biology with specific emphasis on carcinogenesis and cancer therapy.

Mechanism of action differences in the antitumor effects of transmembrane and secretory tumor necrosis factor-alpha in vitro and in vivo

The proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) exists naturally in two forms, a 26 kDa transmembrane form (TM-TNFalpha), and a 17 kDa secretory form (S-TNFalpha). The biological roles for each of these forms of TNFalpha in tumor killing have not been completely elucidated. Therefore, in this study, three different recombinant retroviral vectors, wild-type TNFalpha, solely secretable TNFalpha mutant, and uncleavable transmembrane TNFalpha mutant, were constructed by molecular techniques and stably transfected into a murine hepatic carcinoma cell line (H22). TNFalpha, either secreted in cell culture supernatants by secretable TNFalpha mutant- or wild-type TNFalpha-producing tumor cells, or as a treansmembrane form expressed on the cell surface of uncleavable TNFalpha mutant- or wild-type TNFalpha-synthesizing tumor cells, was demonstrated to be cytotoxic against the TNF sensitive L929 cell line. The H22 cells transfected with the three different forms of TNFalpha were shown to kill parental H22 cells in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay [effect/target (E/T) ratio-dependent manner], and their maximal killing rates were approximately 38-43% at E/T ratio of 5:1. The injection of total 2.5 x 10(5) mixed cells containing transfected and parental H22 tumor cells at different ratios into syngeneic mice resulted in the inhibition of tumor growth with a maximal inhibition rates of approximately 57 approximately 72% at E/T ratio of 5:1. A transient weight loss was found in mice bearing solely secretable TNFalpha mutant producing tumors, whereas no obvious side effects were seen in mice bearing uncleavable TNFalpha mutant or wild-type TNFalpha expressing tumors. Finally, we demonstrate that tumors secreting S-TNFalpha promoted the subsequent infiltration of CD4(+) T cells, and to a lesser extent CD8(+) T cells, to the tumor site. The TM-TNFalpha expressing tumors up-regulated Fas (CD95) expression and inhibited the expression of tumor metastasis associated molecule CD44v3. These results suggest that S-TNFalpha and TM-TNFalpha kill cancer cells in vivo through different mechanisms of action. We conclude that the non-secreted form of TNFalpha may be an ideal candidate for cancer gene therapy due to its therapeutic potential and lowered side effect profile.