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El Herch I, Tornaas S, Dongre HN, Costea DE. Heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor-promoting roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Front Mol Biosci 2024; 11:1340024. [PMID: 38966131 PMCID: PMC11222324 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1340024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Tumor microenvironment (TME) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a major influence on disease progression and therapy response. One of the predominant stromal cell types in the TME of HNSCC is cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). CAF constitute a diverse cell population and we are only at the beginning of characterizing and understanding the functions of various CAF subsets. CAF have been shown to interact with tumor cells and other components of the TME to shape mainly a favourable microenvironment for HNSCC progression, although some studies report existence of tumor-restraining CAF subtypes. The numerous pathways used by CAF to promote tumorigenesis may represent potential therapeutic targets. This review summarizes current knowledge on the origins, subtypes and mechanisms employed by CAF in HNSCC. The aim is to contribute to the understanding on how CAF actively influence the TME and modulate different immune cell types, as well as cancer cells, to establish a conducive setting for cancer growth. Although CAF are currently a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of other types of cancer, there is no significant therapeutic advancement in HNSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imane El Herch
- University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSERM 1052, CNRS 5286, Centre Léon Bérard, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Gade Laboratory for Pathology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Stian Tornaas
- Gade Laboratory for Pathology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Harsh Nitin Dongre
- Gade Laboratory for Pathology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Daniela Elena Costea
- Gade Laboratory for Pathology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers (CCBIO), Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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2
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Lu Q, Kou D, Lou S, Ashrafizadeh M, Aref AR, Canadas I, Tian Y, Niu X, Wang Y, Torabian P, Wang L, Sethi G, Tergaonkar V, Tay F, Yuan Z, Han P. Nanoparticles in tumor microenvironment remodeling and cancer immunotherapy. J Hematol Oncol 2024; 17:16. [PMID: 38566199 PMCID: PMC10986145 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-024-01535-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy and vaccine development have significantly improved the fight against cancers. Despite these advancements, challenges remain, particularly in the clinical delivery of immunomodulatory compounds. The tumor microenvironment (TME), comprising macrophages, fibroblasts, and immune cells, plays a crucial role in immune response modulation. Nanoparticles, engineered to reshape the TME, have shown promising results in enhancing immunotherapy by facilitating targeted delivery and immune modulation. These nanoparticles can suppress fibroblast activation, promote M1 macrophage polarization, aid dendritic cell maturation, and encourage T cell infiltration. Biomimetic nanoparticles further enhance immunotherapy by increasing the internalization of immunomodulatory agents in immune cells such as dendritic cells. Moreover, exosomes, whether naturally secreted by cells in the body or bioengineered, have been explored to regulate the TME and immune-related cells to affect cancer immunotherapy. Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, activated by pH, redox, and light conditions, exhibit the potential to accelerate immunotherapy. The co-application of nanoparticles with immune checkpoint inhibitors is an emerging strategy to boost anti-tumor immunity. With their ability to induce long-term immunity, nanoarchitectures are promising structures in vaccine development. This review underscores the critical role of nanoparticles in overcoming current challenges and driving the advancement of cancer immunotherapy and TME modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Lu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, China
| | - Dongquan Kou
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China
| | - Shenghan Lou
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China
| | - Milad Ashrafizadeh
- Department of General Surgery, Institute of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors, Carson International Cancer Center, Shenzhen University General Hospital, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China
- Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250000, Shandong, China
| | - Amir Reza Aref
- Xsphera Biosciences, Translational Medicine Group, 6 Tide Street, Boston, MA, 02210, USA
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Israel Canadas
- Blood Cell Development and Function Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yu Tian
- School of Public Health, Benedictine University, Lisle, USA
| | - Xiaojia Niu
- Department of Urologic Sciences and Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H3Z6, Canada
| | - Yuzhuo Wang
- Department of Urologic Sciences and Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H3Z6, Canada
| | - Pedram Torabian
- Cumming School of Medicine, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Lingzhi Wang
- NUS Center for Cancer Research (N2CR), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117600, Singapore
| | - Gautam Sethi
- NUS Center for Cancer Research (N2CR), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore.
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117600, Singapore.
| | - Vinay Tergaonkar
- Laboratory of NF-κB Signalling, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 61 Biopolis Drive, Proteos, 138673, Singapore, Republic of Singapore
| | - Franklin Tay
- The Graduate School, Augusta University, 30912, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Zhennan Yuan
- Department of Oncology Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China.
| | - Peng Han
- Department of Oncology Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China.
- Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology in Heilongjiang, Harbin, China.
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3
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Desai SA, Patel VP, Bhosle KP, Nagare SD, Thombare KC. The tumor microenvironment: shaping cancer progression and treatment response. J Chemother 2024:1-30. [PMID: 38179655 DOI: 10.1080/1120009x.2023.2300224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in cancer progression and treatment response. It comprises a complex network of stromal cells, immune cells, extracellular matrix, and blood vessels, all of which interact with cancer cells and influence tumor behaviour. This review article provides an in-depth examination of the TME, focusing on stromal cells, blood vessels, signaling molecules, and ECM, along with commonly available therapeutic compounds that target these components. Moreover, we explore the TME as a novel strategy for discovering new anti-tumor drugs. The dynamic and adaptive nature of the TME offers opportunities for targeting specific cellular interactions and signaling pathways. We discuss emerging approaches, such as combination therapies that simultaneously target cancer cells and modulate the TME. Finally, we address the challenges and future prospects in targeting the TME. Overcoming drug resistance, improving drug delivery, and identifying new therapeutic targets within the TME are among the challenges discussed. We also highlight the potential of personalized medicine and the integration of emerging technologies, such as immunotherapy and nanotechnology, in TME-targeted therapies. This comprehensive review provides insights into the TME and its therapeutic implications. Understanding the TME's complexity and targeting its components offer promising avenues for the development of novel anti-tumor therapies and improved patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharav A Desai
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Sanjivani College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Kopargaon, India
| | - Vipul P Patel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Sanjivani College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Kopargaon, India
| | - Kunal P Bhosle
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Sanjivani College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Kopargaon, India
| | - Sandip D Nagare
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Sanjivani College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Kopargaon, India
| | - Kirti C Thombare
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Sanjivani College of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Kopargaon, India
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Abou Khouzam R, Janji B, Thiery J, Zaarour RF, Chamseddine AN, Mayr H, Savagner P, Kieda C, Gad S, Buart S, Lehn JM, Limani P, Chouaib S. Hypoxia as a potential inducer of immune tolerance, tumor plasticity and a driver of tumor mutational burden: Impact on cancer immunotherapy. Semin Cancer Biol 2023; 97:104-123. [PMID: 38029865 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2023.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
In cancer patients, immune cells are often functionally compromised due to the immunosuppressive features of the tumor microenvironment (TME) which contribute to the failures in cancer therapies. Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that developing tumors adapt to the immunological environment and create a local microenvironment that impairs immune function by inducing immune tolerance and invasion. In this context, microenvironmental hypoxia, which is an established hallmark of solid tumors, significantly contributes to tumor aggressiveness and therapy resistance through the induction of tumor plasticity/heterogeneity and, more importantly, through the differentiation and expansion of immune-suppressive stromal cells. We and others have provided evidence indicating that hypoxia also drives genomic instability in cancer cells and interferes with DNA damage response and repair suggesting that hypoxia could be a potential driver of tumor mutational burden. Here, we reviewed the current knowledge on how hypoxic stress in the TME impacts tumor angiogenesis, heterogeneity, plasticity, and immune resistance, with a special interest in tumor immunogenicity and hypoxia targeting. An integrated understanding of the complexity of the effect of hypoxia on the immune and microenvironmental components could lead to the identification of better adapted and more effective combinational strategies in cancer immunotherapy. Clearly, the discovery and validation of therapeutic targets derived from the hypoxic tumor microenvironment is of major importance and the identification of critical hypoxia-associated pathways could generate targets that are undeniably attractive for combined cancer immunotherapy approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raefa Abou Khouzam
- Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman 4184, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Bassam Janji
- Department of Cancer Research, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment (TIME) Group, 6A, rue Nicolas-Ernest Barblé, L-1210 Luxembourg city, Luxembourg.
| | - Jerome Thiery
- INSERM UMR 1186, Integrative Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gustave Roussy, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France.
| | - Rania Faouzi Zaarour
- Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman 4184, United Arab Emirates.
| | - Ali N Chamseddine
- Gastroenterology Department, Cochin University Hospital, Université de Paris, APHP, Paris, France; Ambroise Paré - Hartmann Private Hospital Group, Oncology Unit, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
| | - Hemma Mayr
- Swiss Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Surgery & Transplantation, University and University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Pierre Savagner
- INSERM UMR 1186, Integrative Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gustave Roussy, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France.
| | - Claudine Kieda
- Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Innovative Therapies, Military Institute of Medicine-National Research Institute, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland; Centre for Molecular Biophysics, UPR 4301 CNRS, 45071 Orleans, France; Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-004 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Sophie Gad
- Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Paris Sciences Lettres University (PSL), 75014 Paris, France; UMR CNRS 9019, Genome Integrity and Cancers, Gustave Roussy, Paris-Saclay University, 94800 Villejuif, France.
| | - Stéphanie Buart
- INSERM UMR 1186, Integrative Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gustave Roussy, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France.
| | - Jean-Marie Lehn
- Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), Université de Strasbourg, 8 allée Gaspard Monge, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Perparim Limani
- Swiss Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Surgery & Transplantation, University and University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Salem Chouaib
- Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman 4184, United Arab Emirates; INSERM UMR 1186, Integrative Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gustave Roussy, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France.
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Benavente S. Remodeling the tumor microenvironment to overcome treatment resistance in HPV-negative head and neck cancer. CANCER DRUG RESISTANCE (ALHAMBRA, CALIF.) 2023; 6:291-313. [PMID: 37457128 PMCID: PMC10344731 DOI: 10.20517/cdr.2022.141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Despite intensive efforts and refined techniques, overall survival in HPV-negative head and neck cancer remains poor. Robust immune priming is required to elicit a strong and durable antitumor immune response in immunologically cold and excluded tumors like HPV-negative head and neck cancer. This review highlights how the tumor microenvironment could be affected by different immune and stromal cell types, weighs the need to integrate metabolic regulation of the tumor microenvironment into cancer treatment strategies and summarizes the emerging clinical applicability of personalized immunotherapeutic strategies in HPV-negative head and neck cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergi Benavente
- Correspondence to: Dr. Sergi Benavente, Department of Radiation Oncology, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Passeig Vall d’Hebron 119, Barcelona 08035, Spain. E-mail:
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Fröhlich E. The Variety of 3D Breast Cancer Models for the Study of Tumor Physiology and Drug Screening. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087116. [PMID: 37108283 PMCID: PMC10139112 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and responsible for multiple deaths worldwide. 3D cancer models enable a better representation of tumor physiology than the conventional 2D cultures. This review summarizes the important components of physiologically relevant 3D models and describes the spectrum of 3D breast cancer models, e.g., spheroids, organoids, breast cancer on a chip and bioprinted tissues. The generation of spheroids is relatively standardized and easy to perform. Microfluidic systems allow control over the environment and the inclusion of sensors and can be combined with spheroids or bioprinted models. The strength of bioprinting relies on the spatial control of the cells and the modulation of the extracellular matrix. Except for the predominant use of breast cancer cell lines, the models differ in stromal cell composition, matrices and fluid flow. Organoids are most appropriate for personalized treatment, but all technologies can mimic most aspects of breast cancer physiology. Fetal bovine serum as a culture supplement and Matrigel as a scaffold limit the reproducibility and standardization of the listed 3D models. The integration of adipocytes is needed because they possess an important role in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonore Fröhlich
- Center for Medical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH, 8010 Graz, Austria
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