Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches
The tumour microenvironment (TME) is now recognised as a hallmark of cancer, since tumour:stroma crosstalk supports the key steps of tumour growth and progression. The dynamic co-evolution of the tumour and stromal compartments may alter the surrounding microenvironment, including the composition in...
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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Series: | Cells |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/12/3396 |
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author | Marta Iozzo Giovanna Sgrignani Giuseppina Comito Paola Chiarugi Elisa Giannoni |
author_facet | Marta Iozzo Giovanna Sgrignani Giuseppina Comito Paola Chiarugi Elisa Giannoni |
author_sort | Marta Iozzo |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The tumour microenvironment (TME) is now recognised as a hallmark of cancer, since tumour:stroma crosstalk supports the key steps of tumour growth and progression. The dynamic co-evolution of the tumour and stromal compartments may alter the surrounding microenvironment, including the composition in metabolites and signalling mediators. A growing number of evidence reports the involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in cancer. ECS is composed by a complex network of ligands, receptors, and enzymes, which act in synergy and contribute to several physiological but also pathological processes. Several in vitro and in vivo evidence show that ECS deregulation in cancer cells affects proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and metastatic potential. Although it is still an evolving research, recent experimental evidence also suggests that ECS can modulate the functional behaviour of several components of the TME, above all the immune cells, endothelial cells and stromal components. However, the role of ECS in the tumour:stroma interplay remains unclear and research in this area is particularly intriguing. This review aims to shed light on the latest relevant findings of the tumour response to ECS modulation, encouraging a more in-depth analysis in this field. Novel discoveries could be promising for novel anti-tumour approaches, targeting the microenvironmental components and the supportive tumour:stroma crosstalk, thereby hindering tumour development. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:26:13Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-d4ea5a269534403eb98c486db1a0d611 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2073-4409 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:26:13Z |
publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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series | Cells |
spelling | doaj.art-d4ea5a269534403eb98c486db1a0d6112023-11-23T07:37:12ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092021-12-011012339610.3390/cells10123396Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer ApproachesMarta Iozzo0Giovanna Sgrignani1Giuseppina Comito2Paola Chiarugi3Elisa Giannoni4Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio”, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, ItalyThe tumour microenvironment (TME) is now recognised as a hallmark of cancer, since tumour:stroma crosstalk supports the key steps of tumour growth and progression. The dynamic co-evolution of the tumour and stromal compartments may alter the surrounding microenvironment, including the composition in metabolites and signalling mediators. A growing number of evidence reports the involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in cancer. ECS is composed by a complex network of ligands, receptors, and enzymes, which act in synergy and contribute to several physiological but also pathological processes. Several in vitro and in vivo evidence show that ECS deregulation in cancer cells affects proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and metastatic potential. Although it is still an evolving research, recent experimental evidence also suggests that ECS can modulate the functional behaviour of several components of the TME, above all the immune cells, endothelial cells and stromal components. However, the role of ECS in the tumour:stroma interplay remains unclear and research in this area is particularly intriguing. This review aims to shed light on the latest relevant findings of the tumour response to ECS modulation, encouraging a more in-depth analysis in this field. Novel discoveries could be promising for novel anti-tumour approaches, targeting the microenvironmental components and the supportive tumour:stroma crosstalk, thereby hindering tumour development.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/12/3396endocannabinoid systemtumour microenvironmentimmune cellsanti-cancer treatmentpreclinical models |
spellingShingle | Marta Iozzo Giovanna Sgrignani Giuseppina Comito Paola Chiarugi Elisa Giannoni Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches Cells endocannabinoid system tumour microenvironment immune cells anti-cancer treatment preclinical models |
title | Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches |
title_full | Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches |
title_fullStr | Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches |
title_full_unstemmed | Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches |
title_short | Endocannabinoid System and Tumour Microenvironment: New Intertwined Connections for Anticancer Approaches |
title_sort | endocannabinoid system and tumour microenvironment new intertwined connections for anticancer approaches |
topic | endocannabinoid system tumour microenvironment immune cells anti-cancer treatment preclinical models |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/12/3396 |
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