Dendritic cell subsets and implications for cancer immunotherapy

Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Polarization, Immunoregulation, and Immunotherapy

Tumor-associated macrophages' (TAMs) origin, polarization, and dynamic interaction in the tumor microenvironment (TME) influence cancer development. They are essential for homeostasis, monitoring, and immune protection. Cells from bone marrow or embryonic progenitors dynamically polarize into pro- or anti-tumor M2 or M1 phenotypes based on cytokines and metabolic signals. Recent advances in TAM heterogeneity, polarization, characterization, immunological responses, and therapy are described here. The manuscript details TAM functions and their role in resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. Similarly, TAM-targeted approaches, such as CSF-1R inhibition or PI3Kγ-driven reprogramming, are discussed to address anti-tumor immunity suppression. Furthermore, innovative biomarkers and combination therapy may enhance TAM-centric cancer therapies. It also stresses the relevance of this distinct immune cell in human health and disease, which could impact future research and therapies.

Advances in neoantigen-based immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a comprehensive review

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), ranking among the six most prevalent malignancies worldwide, is characterized by significant heterogeneity. Conventional monotherapeutic approaches, including surgical intervention, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, often fail to achieve complete tumor cell elimination, consequently leading to disease recurrence and metastatic progression. In this context, personalized immunotherapeutic strategies, particularly cancer vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors, have emerged as promising therapeutic modalities for patients with recurrent/metastatic (R/M) HNSCC. Neoantigens, which exhibit selective expression in tumor tissues while remaining absent in normal tissues, have garnered considerable attention as novel targets for HNSCC personalized immunotherapy. However, the marked heterogeneity of HNSCC, coupled with patient-specific HLA variations, necessitates precise technical identification and evaluation of neoantigens at the individual level-a significant contemporary challenge. This comprehensive review systematically explores the landscape of neoantigen-based immunotherapy in HNSCC, including neoantigen sources, screening strategies, identification methods, and their clinical applications. Additionally, it evaluates the therapeutic potential of combining neoantigen-based approaches with other immunotherapeutic modalities, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, providing valuable insights for future clinical practice and research directions in HNSCC treatment.

Astragaloside IV as a promising therapeutic agent for liver diseases: current landscape and future perspectives

Astragaloside IV (C41H68O14, AS-IV) is a naturally occurring saponin isolated from the root of Astragalus membranaceus, a widely used traditional Chinese botanical drug in medicine. In recent years, AS-IV has attracted considerable attention for its hepatoprotective properties, which are attributed to its low toxicity as well as its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antitumour effects. Numerous preclinical studies have demonstrated its potential in the prevention and treatment of various liver diseases, including multifactorial liver injury, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Given the promising hepatoprotective potential of AS-IV and the growing interest in its research, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of research on the hepatoprotective effects of AS-IV, based on literature available in databases such as CNKI, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and Web of Science. The hepatoprotective mechanisms of AS-IV are multifaceted, encompassing the inhibition of inflammatory responses, reduction of oxidative stress, improvement of insulin and leptin resistance, modulation of the gut microbiota, suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and induction of tumour cell apoptosis. Notably, key molecular pathways involved in these effects include Nrf2/HO-1, NF-κB, NLRP3/Caspase-1, JNK/c-Jun/AP-1, PPARα/FSP1 and Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin. Toxicity studies indicate that AS-IV has a high level of safety. In addition, this review discusses the sources, physicochemical properties, and current challenges in the development and clinical application of AS-IV, providing valuable insights into its potential as a hepatoprotective agent in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

Enteroviruses Activate Cellular Innate Immune Responses Prior to Adaptive Immunity and Tropism Contributes to Severe Viral Pathogenesis

Numerous innate immune mechanisms have been shown to be activated during viral infections, including pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) functioning outside and inside the cell along with other sensors promoting the production of interferon and other cytokines. Innate cells, including NK cells, NKT cells, γδ T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, and even neutrophils, have been shown to respond to viral infections. Several innate humoral responses to viral infections have also been identified. Adaptive immunity includes common cell-mediated immunity (CMI) and humoral responses. Th1, Th2, and Tfh CD4+ T cell responses have been shown to help activate cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and to help promote the class switching of antiviral antibodies. Enteroviruses were shown to induce innate immune responses and the tropism of the virus that was mediated through viral attachment proteins (VAPs) and cellular receptors was directly related to the risk of severe disease in a primary infection. Adaptive immune responses include cellular and humoral immunity, and its delay in primary infections underscores the importance of vaccination in ameliorating or preventing severe viral pathogenesis.

Engineering innate immune cells for cancer immunotherapy

Innate immune cells, including natural killer cells, macrophages and γδ T cells, are gaining prominence as promising candidates for cancer immunotherapy. Unlike conventional T cells, these cells possess attributes such as inherent antitumor activity, rapid immune responses, favorable safety profiles and the ability to target diverse malignancies without requiring prior antigen sensitization. In this Review, we examine the engineering strategies used to enhance their anticancer potential. We discuss challenges associated with each cell type and summarize insights from preclinical and clinical work. We propose strategies to address existing barriers, providing a perspective on the advancement of innate immune engineering as a powerful modality in anticancer treatment.

Colorectal Organoids: Models, Imaging, Omics, Therapy, Immunology, and Ethics

Colorectal epithelium was the first long-term 3D organoid culture established in vitro. Identification of the key components essential for the long-term survival of the stem cell niche allowed an indefinite propagation of these cultures and the modulation of their differentiation into various lineages of mature intestinal epithelial cells. While these methods were eventually adapted to establish organoids from different organs, colorectal organoids remain a pioneering model for the development of new applications in health and disease. Several basic and applicative aspects of organoid culture, modeling, monitoring and testing are analyzed in this review. We also tackle the ethical problems of biobanking and distribution of these precious research tools, frequently confined in the laboratory of origin or condemned to destruction at the end of the project.

Overview of dendritic cells subsets and their involvement in immune-related pathological disease

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in linking innate and adaptive immune responses. In addition to presenting antigens to T cells, DCs must also provide co-stimulatory signals along with cytokines for T cells to induce an appropriate cellular immune response. Tolerance is also established and maintained by DCs under homeostatic circumstances. There is remarkable phenotypic heterogeneity in DCs, each with different functional flexibility and specific expression of various markers. The three primary categories of DCs comprise conventional DCs (cDCs), plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), and monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs). Langerhans cells (LCs) are another type of DCs, which are found in the skin's epidermal layer. DCs may be positioned or triggered inappropriately as a result of dysregulation of DC. This phenomenon can cause an imbalance in immune responses and even immune-related pathological disorders, i.e., autoimmune diseases and malignancies. Herein, by reviewing the ontogeny, biology, characteristics, and function of DCs subsets in immune system, we discuss the contribution of these cells in the mentioned immune-related disorders.

Advancing precision cancer immunotherapy drug development, administration, and response prediction with AI-enabled Raman spectroscopy

Molecular characterization of tumors is essential to identify predictive biomarkers that inform treatment decisions and improve precision immunotherapy development and administration. However, challenges such as the heterogeneity of tumors and patient responses, limited efficacy of current biomarkers, and the predominant reliance on single-omics data, have hindered advances in accurately predicting treatment outcomes. Standard therapy generally applies a "one size fits all" approach, which not only provides ineffective or limited responses, but also an increased risk of off-target toxicities and acceleration of resistance mechanisms or adverse effects. As the development of emerging multi- and spatial-omics platforms continues to evolve, an effective tumor assessment platform providing utility in a clinical setting should i) enable high-throughput and robust screening in a variety of biological matrices, ii) provide in-depth information resolved with single to subcellular precision, and iii) improve accessibility in economical point-of-care settings. In this perspective, we explore the application of label-free Raman spectroscopy as a tumor profiling tool for precision immunotherapy. We examine how Raman spectroscopy's non-invasive, label-free approach can deepen our understanding of intricate inter- and intra-cellular interactions within the tumor-immune microenvironment. Furthermore, we discuss the analytical advances in Raman spectroscopy, highlighting its evolution to be utilized as a single "Raman-omics" approach. Lastly, we highlight the translational potential of Raman for its integration in clinical practice for safe and precise patient-centric immunotherapy.

Manganese improves anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy via eliciting type I interferon signaling in melanoma

The immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy represented by blocking programmed cell death protein 1/ programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) has made significant progress in melanoma treatment. However, the response rate and therapeutic effect of immunotherapy alone are still not ideal for melanoma. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the defects of treating anti-PD-L1 alone and the therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of combined therapy with anti-PD-L1 and MnCl2. We detected the changes of immune cell populations after anti-PD-L1 treatment in melanoma xenograft mouse model. Further, we evaluated the regulatory effect of MnCl2 on dendritic cells (DCs) maturation in vitro. Next, we tested the therapeutic effect and regulatory effect on the tumor microenvironment with anti-PD-L1 and MnCl2 via combining treatment with anti-PD-L1 and MnCl2. Anti-PD-L1 therapy has a certain tumor suppressive function, but the effect is not ideal. The results of flow cytometry showed that the number of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells significantly increased after anti-PD-L1 treatment. However, the number of DCs remained basically unchanged after anti-PD-L1 treatment. In vitro, we confirmed that MnCl2 significantly promoted DCs maturation vis activating cGAS-STING signaling pathway. The combination of anti-PD-L1 and MnCl2 displayed the best tumor suppression effect in melanoma xenograft mouse model. In tumor microenvironment, the infiltration of T cells and the maturation of DCs were significantly promoted, demonstrating a strong anti-tumor immune response. In summary, we conclude that combining anti-PD-L1 with MnCl2 is a promising therapeutic strategy for melanoma.

Trial watch: anticancer vaccination with dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are critical players at the intersection of innate and adaptive immunity, making them ideal candidates for anticancer vaccine development. DC-based immunotherapies typically involve isolating patient-derived DCs, pulsing them with tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) or tumor-specific antigens (TSAs), and utilizing maturation cocktails to ensure their effective activation. These matured DCs are then reinfused to elicit tumor-specific T-cell responses. While this approach has demonstrated the ability to generate potent immune responses, its clinical efficacy has been limited due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Recent efforts have focused on enhancing the immunogenicity of DC-based vaccines, particularly through combination therapies with T cell-targeting immunotherapies. This Trial Watch summarizes recent advances in DC-based cancer treatments, including the development of new preclinical and clinical strategies, and discusses the future potential of DC-based vaccines in the evolving landscape of immuno-oncology.