Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression

Neutrophils are the most abundant circulating leukocytes in humans. Neutrophil infiltration into tumor tissues has long been observed but its roles have been ignored due to the presumed short life cycle and metabolic incompetence of neutrophils. Recent advances in neutrophil biology research have re...

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Main Authors: Naofumi Mukaida, So-ichiro Sasaki, Tomohisa Baba
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3457
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author Naofumi Mukaida
So-ichiro Sasaki
Tomohisa Baba
author_facet Naofumi Mukaida
So-ichiro Sasaki
Tomohisa Baba
author_sort Naofumi Mukaida
collection DOAJ
description Neutrophils are the most abundant circulating leukocytes in humans. Neutrophil infiltration into tumor tissues has long been observed but its roles have been ignored due to the presumed short life cycle and metabolic incompetence of neutrophils. Recent advances in neutrophil biology research have revealed that neutrophils have a longer life cycle with a potential to express various bioactive molecules. Clinical studies have simultaneously unraveled an increase in the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a ratio of absolute neutrophil to absolute lymphocyte numbers in cancer patient peripheral blood and an association of higher NLR with more advanced or aggressive disease. As a consequence, tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) have emerged as important players in tumor microenvironment. The elucidation of the roles of TANs, however, has been hampered by their multitude of plasticity in terms of phenotypes and functionality. Difficulties are further enhanced by the presence of a related cell population—polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)-myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)—and various dissimilar aspects of neutrophil biology between humans and mice. Here, we discuss TAN biology in various tumorigenesis processes, and particularly focus on the context-dependent functional heterogeneity of TANs.
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spelling doaj.art-6df6bc1f79404b1b84460c4e1469db392023-11-20T00:26:35ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672020-05-012110345710.3390/ijms21103457Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and ProgressionNaofumi Mukaida0So-ichiro Sasaki1Tomohisa Baba2Division of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, JapanDivision of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, JapanDivision of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, JapanNeutrophils are the most abundant circulating leukocytes in humans. Neutrophil infiltration into tumor tissues has long been observed but its roles have been ignored due to the presumed short life cycle and metabolic incompetence of neutrophils. Recent advances in neutrophil biology research have revealed that neutrophils have a longer life cycle with a potential to express various bioactive molecules. Clinical studies have simultaneously unraveled an increase in the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a ratio of absolute neutrophil to absolute lymphocyte numbers in cancer patient peripheral blood and an association of higher NLR with more advanced or aggressive disease. As a consequence, tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) have emerged as important players in tumor microenvironment. The elucidation of the roles of TANs, however, has been hampered by their multitude of plasticity in terms of phenotypes and functionality. Difficulties are further enhanced by the presence of a related cell population—polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)-myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)—and various dissimilar aspects of neutrophil biology between humans and mice. Here, we discuss TAN biology in various tumorigenesis processes, and particularly focus on the context-dependent functional heterogeneity of TANs.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3457chemokineCXCR2CXCR4granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G–CSF), interleukin-17myeloid-derived suppressor cell
spellingShingle Naofumi Mukaida
So-ichiro Sasaki
Tomohisa Baba
Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
chemokine
CXCR2
CXCR4
granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G–CSF), interleukin-17
myeloid-derived suppressor cell
title Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
title_full Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
title_fullStr Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
title_full_unstemmed Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
title_short Two-Faced Roles of Tumor-Associated Neutrophils in Cancer Development and Progression
title_sort two faced roles of tumor associated neutrophils in cancer development and progression
topic chemokine
CXCR2
CXCR4
granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G–CSF), interleukin-17
myeloid-derived suppressor cell
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3457
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AT tomohisababa twofacedrolesoftumorassociatedneutrophilsincancerdevelopmentandprogression