Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Pharmaceutical Fronts 2023; 05(04): e254-e273
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1777704
Review Article

Roles of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Tumor Environment and Strategies for Targeting Therapy

Meng-Qi Liu#
1   Engineering Research Center of Cell & Therapeutic Antibody, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
,
Jia-Wei Zhang#
1   Engineering Research Center of Cell & Therapeutic Antibody, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
,
Jian-Wei Zhu
1   Engineering Research Center of Cell & Therapeutic Antibody, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
2   Jecho Laboratories, Inc., Maryland, United States
› Institutsangaben
Preview

Abstract

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) constitute a significant component of the tumor microenvironment. This work reviewed the latest progress in comprehending the function of TAMs and their strategies for cancer therapy. TAMs are highly heterogeneous and plastic and exhibit different functional phenotypes in response to different signal stimuli. The emergence of single-cell technologies allows us to revisit their diversity in cancer. When their pro-inflammatory function is activated, antitumor TAMs support and activate adaptive immune cells to eliminate cancer cells through T cell-mediated killing. In the context of cancer, anti-inflammatory TAMs play a variety of pro-tumor functions, such as releasing cytokines to promote the recruitment of bone marrow cells, promoting tumor angiogenesis, and inhibiting cytotoxic T cell function. The plasticity of TAMs makes them a potential tumor therapeutic target, so finally, we updated strategies for targeting TAMs and the TAM-targeting agents currently being evaluated in clinical trials.

Supporting Information

Detailed information for representative clinical trials of TAM-targeting agents and strategies for anticancer therapy ([Table S1], available in the online version), and chemical structural and corresponding targets of small-molecule compounds mentioned in the text (BLZ945, pexidartinib, 3D-185, PF-04136309, maraviroc, BMS 813160, cediranib, rintatolimod) ([Table S2], available in the online version); as well as TAMs targeting-related studies including the significant progress, advantages, and limitations ([Table S3], available in the online version), are included in the Supporting Information ([Table S1]–[S3], available in the online version).


# These authors contributed to this work equally.


Supplementary Material



Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 10. September 2023

Angenommen: 17. November 2023

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
13. Dezember 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany