Clinical significance of macrophage heterogeneity in human malignant tumors

The fact that various immune cells, including macrophages, can be found in tumor tissue has long been known. With the recent introduction of the novel concept of macrophage differentiation into a classically activated phenotype (M1) and an alternatively activated phenotype (M2), the role of tumor‐as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer science 2014-01, Vol.105 (1), p.1-8
Main Authors: Komohara, Yoshihiro, Jinushi, Masahisa, Takeya, Motohiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiogenesis
Animals
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer therapies
CD163
Cell activation
Cell Communication - immunology
Cell Differentiation - immunology
Cell growth
Cell interactions
Chemokines
Clinical significance
Disease Progression
Drugs
Fibroblasts
Gastric cancer
Genotype & phenotype
Humans
Immunosuppression
Ligands
Liver cancer
Lymphocytes
Lymphoma
macrophage
Macrophages
Macrophages - immunology
Macrophages - pathology
Medical prognosis
Metastasis
Neoplasms - immunology
Neoplasms - pathology
Phenotypes
Prostate cancer
Review
Signal transduction
TAM
Tumor cells
Tumors
Vascular endothelial growth factor
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Summary:The fact that various immune cells, including macrophages, can be found in tumor tissue has long been known. With the recent introduction of the novel concept of macrophage differentiation into a classically activated phenotype (M1) and an alternatively activated phenotype (M2), the role of tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) is gradually beginning to be elucidated. Specifically, in human malignant tumors, TAMs that have differentiated into M2 macrophages act as “protumoral macrophages” and contribute to the progression of disease. Based on recent basic and preclinical research, TAMs that have differentiated into protumoral or M2 macrophages are believed to be intimately involved in the angiogenesis, immunosuppression, and activation of tumor cells. In this paper, we specifically discuss both the role of TAMs in human malignant tumors and the cell–cell interactions between TAMs and tumor cells. Heterogeneity of TAM differentiation is now focused, and M2 TAM is contributed to tumor progression in human cancers. We review recent studies which investigated TAMs in human cancers.
ISSN:1347-9032
1349-7006
DOI:10.1111/cas.12314