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Aizaz M, Khan A, Khan F, Khan M, Musad Saleh EA, Nisar M, Baran N. The cross-talk between macrophages and tumor cells as a target for cancer treatment. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1259034. [PMID: 38033495 PMCID: PMC10682792 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1259034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Macrophages represent an important component of the innate immune system. Under physiological conditions, macrophages, which are essential phagocytes, maintain a proinflammatory response and repair damaged tissue. However, these processes are often impaired upon tumorigenesis, in which tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) protect and support the growth, proliferation, and invasion of tumor cells and promote suppression of antitumor immunity. TAM abundance is closely associated with poor outcome of cancer, with impediment of chemotherapy effectiveness and ultimately a dismal therapy response and inferior overall survival. Thus, cross-talk between cancer cells and TAMs is an important target for immune checkpoint therapies and metabolic interventions, spurring interest in it as a therapeutic vulnerability for both hematological cancers and solid tumors. Furthermore, targeting of this cross-talk has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment with the antibody against CD47 protein, a critical macrophage checkpoint recognized as the "don't eat me" signal, as well as other metabolism-focused strategies. Therapies targeting CD47 constitute an important milestone in the advancement of anticancer research and have had promising effects on not only phagocytosis activation but also innate and adaptive immune system activation, effectively counteracting tumor cells' evasion of therapy as shown in the context of myeloid cancers. Targeting of CD47 signaling is only one of several possibilities to reverse the immunosuppressive and tumor-protective tumor environment with the aim of enhancing the antitumor response. Several preclinical studies identified signaling pathways that regulate the recruitment, polarization, or metabolism of TAMs. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the role of macrophages in cancer progression and the mechanisms by which they communicate with tumor cells. Additionally, we dissect various therapeutic strategies developed to target macrophage-tumor cell cross-talk, including modulation of macrophage polarization, blockade of signaling pathways, and disruption of physical interactions between leukemia cells and macrophages. Finally, we highlight the challenges associated with tumor hypoxia and acidosis as barriers to effective cancer therapy and discuss opportunities for future research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Aizaz
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Aakif Khan
- Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Faisal Khan
- Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Maria Khan
- Center of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Ebraheem Abdu Musad Saleh
- Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Science, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Maryum Nisar
- School of Interdisciplinary Engineering & Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Natalia Baran
- Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
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Roemer MG, van de Brug T, Bosch E, Berry D, Hijmering N, Stathi P, Weijers K, Doorduijn J, Bromberg J, van de Wiel M, Ylstra B, de Jong D, Kim Y. Multi-scale spatial modeling of immune cell distributions enables survival prediction in primary central nervous system lymphoma. iScience 2023; 26:107331. [PMID: 37539043 PMCID: PMC10393746 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
To understand the clinical significance of the tumor microenvironment (TME), it is essential to study the interactions between malignant and non-malignant cells in clinical specimens. Here, we established a computational framework for a multiplex imaging system to comprehensively characterize spatial contexts of the TME at multiple scales, including close and long-distance spatial interactions between cell type pairs. We applied this framework to a total of 1,393 multiplex imaging data newly generated from 88 primary central nervous system lymphomas with complete follow-up data and identified significant prognostic subgroups mainly shaped by the spatial context. A supervised analysis confirmed a significant contribution of spatial context in predicting patient survival. In particular, we found an opposite prognostic value of macrophage infiltration depending on its proximity to specific cell types. Altogether, we provide a comprehensive framework to analyze spatial cellular interaction that can be broadly applied to other technologies and tumor contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaretha G.M. Roemer
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tim van de Brug
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Erik Bosch
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Mathematics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daniella Berry
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nathalie Hijmering
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- HOVON Pathology Facility and Biobank (HOP), Department of Pathology, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Phylicia Stathi
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Weijers
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jeannette Doorduijn
- Department of Hematology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jacoline Bromberg
- Department of Neuro-Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Brain Tumor Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mark van de Wiel
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bauke Ylstra
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daphne de Jong
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yongsoo Kim
- Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Pathology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Mavridou K, Goussia AC, Spyridonos P, Papoudou-Bai A, Schulze HJ, Gaitanis G, Bassukas ID. Evidence for differing roles of CD11c + CD163 + and CD11c - CD163 + cells in intracellular pigment storing in tattoos and stasis dermatitis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2023. [PMID: 36912804 DOI: 10.1111/jdv.19025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna C Goussia
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Panagiota Spyridonos
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Alexandra Papoudou-Bai
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | | | - Georgios Gaitanis
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Ioannis D Bassukas
- Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
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Multiplex Tissue Imaging: Spatial Revelations in the Tumor Microenvironment. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14133170. [PMID: 35804939 PMCID: PMC9264815 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14133170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, and the overall aging of the population results in an increased risk of a cancer diagnosis during a person’s lifetime. Diagnosis and treatment at an early stage will typically increase the chances of survival. Tumors can develop therapy resistance, and it is difficult to predict how individual patients will respond to therapy. Most studies that aim to resolve this problem have focused on studying the composition and characteristics of dissociated tumors, while ignoring the role of cell localization and interactions within the tumor microenvironment. In the past decade, technological innovations have enabled multiplex imaging analyses of intact tumors to study localization and interaction parameters, which can be used as biomarkers, or can be correlated with treatment responses and clinical outcomes. Abstract The tumor microenvironment is a complex ecosystem containing various cell types, such as immune cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, which interact with the tumor cells. In recent decades, the cancer research field has gained insight into the cellular subtypes that are involved in tumor microenvironment heterogeneity. Moreover, it has become evident that cellular interactions in the tumor microenvironment can either promote or inhibit tumor development, progression, and drug resistance, depending on the context. Multiplex spatial analysis methods have recently been developed; these have offered insight into how cellular crosstalk dynamics and heterogeneity affect cancer prognoses and responses to treatment. Multiplex (imaging) technologies and computational analysis methods allow for the spatial visualization and quantification of cell–cell interactions and properties. These technological advances allow for the discovery of cellular interactions within the tumor microenvironment and provide detailed single-cell information on properties that define cellular behavior. Such analyses give insights into the prognosis and mechanisms of therapy resistance, which is still an urgent problem in the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Here, we provide an overview of multiplex imaging technologies and concepts of downstream analysis methods to investigate cell–cell interactions, how these studies have advanced cancer research, and their potential clinical implications.
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