Natural Compounds as Metabolic Modulators of the Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a heterogenous assemblage of malignant and non-malignant cells, including infiltrating immune cells and other stromal cells, together with extracellular matrix and a variety of soluble factors. This complex and dynamic milieu strongly affects tumor differentiation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-06, Vol.26 (12), p.3494
Main Authors: Dias, Ana S., Helguero, Luisa, Almeida, Catarina R., Duarte, Iola F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Crosstalk
Cytotoxicity
Enzymes
Extracellular matrix
Fibroblasts
Genotype & phenotype
Immune system
metabolic modulation
Metabolism
Metastasis
natural compounds
Nitric oxide
Phosphorylation
phytochemicals
Respiration
Review
Stem cells
Stromal cells
Tumor microenvironment
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Summary:The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a heterogenous assemblage of malignant and non-malignant cells, including infiltrating immune cells and other stromal cells, together with extracellular matrix and a variety of soluble factors. This complex and dynamic milieu strongly affects tumor differentiation, progression, immune evasion, and response to therapy, thus being an important therapeutic target. The phenotypic and functional features of the various cell types present in the TME are largely dependent on their ability to adopt different metabolic programs. Hence, modulating the metabolism of the cells in the TME, and their metabolic crosstalk, has emerged as a promising strategy in the context of anticancer therapies. Natural compounds offer an attractive tool in this respect as their multiple biological activities can potentially be harnessed to ‘(re)-educate’ TME cells towards antitumoral roles. The present review discusses how natural compounds shape the metabolism of stromal cells in the TME and how this may impact tumor development and progression.
ISSN:1420-3049
1420-3049
DOI:10.3390/molecules26123494