Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma

Summary: Tumor progression is profoundly influenced by interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Among the various non-neoplastic cells present, immune cells are critical players in tumor development and have thus emerged as attractive therapeutic targets. Malignant gli...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Erin A. Akins, Manish K. Aghi, Sanjay Kumar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-12-01
Series:iScience
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220309676
_version_ 1818726824342978560
author Erin A. Akins
Manish K. Aghi
Sanjay Kumar
author_facet Erin A. Akins
Manish K. Aghi
Sanjay Kumar
author_sort Erin A. Akins
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Tumor progression is profoundly influenced by interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Among the various non-neoplastic cells present, immune cells are critical players in tumor development and have thus emerged as attractive therapeutic targets. Malignant gliomas exhibit a unique immune landscape characterized by high numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Despite encouraging preclinical results, targeting TAMs has yielded limited clinical success as a strategy for slowing glioma progression. The slow translational progress of TAM-targeted therapies is due in part to an incomplete understanding of the factors driving TAM recruitment, differentiation, and polarization. Furthermore, the functions that TAMs adopt in gliomas remain largely unknown. Progress in addressing these gaps requires sophisticated culture platforms capable of capturing key cellular and physical TME features. This review summarizes the current understanding of TAMs in gliomas and highlights the utility of in vitro TME models for investigating TAM-cancer cell cross talk.
first_indexed 2024-12-17T22:04:20Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5f279f87a6e4407489170edd7ea6b257
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2589-0042
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-17T22:04:20Z
publishDate 2020-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series iScience
spelling doaj.art-5f279f87a6e4407489170edd7ea6b2572022-12-21T21:30:54ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422020-12-012312101770Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of GliomaErin A. Akins0Manish K. Aghi1Sanjay Kumar2University of California, Berkeley – University of California, San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USADepartment of Neurosurgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USAUniversity of California, Berkeley – University of California, San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: Tumor progression is profoundly influenced by interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Among the various non-neoplastic cells present, immune cells are critical players in tumor development and have thus emerged as attractive therapeutic targets. Malignant gliomas exhibit a unique immune landscape characterized by high numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Despite encouraging preclinical results, targeting TAMs has yielded limited clinical success as a strategy for slowing glioma progression. The slow translational progress of TAM-targeted therapies is due in part to an incomplete understanding of the factors driving TAM recruitment, differentiation, and polarization. Furthermore, the functions that TAMs adopt in gliomas remain largely unknown. Progress in addressing these gaps requires sophisticated culture platforms capable of capturing key cellular and physical TME features. This review summarizes the current understanding of TAMs in gliomas and highlights the utility of in vitro TME models for investigating TAM-cancer cell cross talk.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220309676ImmunologyBioengineeringCancer
spellingShingle Erin A. Akins
Manish K. Aghi
Sanjay Kumar
Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
iScience
Immunology
Bioengineering
Cancer
title Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
title_full Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
title_fullStr Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
title_full_unstemmed Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
title_short Incorporating Tumor-Associated Macrophages into Engineered Models of Glioma
title_sort incorporating tumor associated macrophages into engineered models of glioma
topic Immunology
Bioengineering
Cancer
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220309676
work_keys_str_mv AT erinaakins incorporatingtumorassociatedmacrophagesintoengineeredmodelsofglioma
AT manishkaghi incorporatingtumorassociatedmacrophagesintoengineeredmodelsofglioma
AT sanjaykumar incorporatingtumorassociatedmacrophagesintoengineeredmodelsofglioma