髓源性抑制细胞在肿瘤免疫中的作用

近来研究发现,一类被称为髓源性抑制细胞(Myeloid-derived suppressor cells,MDSCs)的细胞群,参与了肿瘤的免疫逃逸、免疫耐受、免疫抑制等病理过程,促进肿瘤的发生和生长。这群细胞主要分布在血液、脾、淋巴结、骨髓及肿瘤微环境等部位,通过复杂的分子途径,对机体的抗肿瘤免疫起抑制作用。本文就MDSCs在这方面作用的研究进展作一综述。     

综述:髓系衍生的抑制性细胞与肿瘤免疫耐受关系的研究进展

髓系衍生的抑制性细胞(myeloid-derived suppressor cells,MDSCs),是在肿瘤等病理因素的作用下髓系细胞发生分化障碍所产生的不同阶段髓系祖细胞的集合,具有广谱而强大的免疫抑制功能,是免疫系统的重要负性调节组件之一.研究表明:肿瘤微环境中的多种细胞因子或生长因子可通过激活相应的信号通路促进MDSCs扩增及活化,MDSCs进而通过多种机制抑制包括T细胞在内的多种免疫细胞的功能而促进肿瘤个体免疫耐受的发生.临床研究表明:肿瘤患者体内MDSCs的水平与肿瘤临床病程进展密切相关,基于MDSCs的免疫治疗也有望成为肿瘤免疫治疗的新策略.本文主要介绍了肿瘤中MDSCs的表型鉴定、扩增及活化机制、发挥免疫抑制作用的途径及机制、肿瘤中MDSCs的临床意义以及本领域需要解决的问题,以期对MDSCs在肿瘤免疫耐受中的作用进展提供参考.     

髓系衍生的抑制性细胞与肿瘤免疫耐受关系的研究进展

髓系衍生的抑制性细胞(myeloid-derived suppressor cells,MDSCs),是在肿瘤等病理因素的作用下髓系细胞发生分化障碍所产生的不同阶段髓系祖细胞的集合,具有广谱而强大的免疫抑制功能,是免疫系统的重要负性调节组件之一.研究表明:肿瘤微环境中的多种细胞因子或生长因子可通过激活相应的信号通路促进MDSCs扩增及活化,MDSCs进而通过多种机制抑制包括T细胞在内的多种免疫细胞的功能而促进肿瘤个体免疫耐受的发生.临床研究表明:肿瘤患者体内MDSCs的水平与肿瘤临床病程进展密切相关,基于MDSCs的免疫治疗也有望成为肿瘤免疫治疗的新策略.本文主要介绍了肿瘤中MDSCs的表型鉴定、扩增及活化机制、发挥免疫抑制作用的途径及机制、肿瘤中MDSCs的临床意义以及本领域需要解决的问题,以期对MDSCs在肿瘤免疫耐受中的作用进展提供参考.     

基于髓源性抑制细胞的食药用菌多糖抗肿瘤免疫作用机制

髓源性抑制细胞(myeloid-derived suppressor cells,MDSCs)是一种异质性的免疫调节细胞。在癌症机体中,MDSCs是主要的免疫抑制细胞,通过多种途径诱导T淋巴细胞衰竭和凋亡,促进肿瘤细胞逃逸,从而导致肿瘤不受控制地生长,是癌症治疗的主要障碍。目前,MDSCs是癌症药物研究的热点和关键靶点。近年来,研究报道显示多糖可下调MDSCs在癌症患者及肿瘤实验动物体内数量和比例,并诱导免疫抑制功能丧失。食药用菌多糖是天然多糖的主要来源,可以通过多种途径激活肿瘤免疫应答,其抑制MDSCs功能的研究报道逐年增多,目前研究主要集中在香菇多糖、灵芝多糖等部分种类。因此,本文简要描述髓源性抑制细胞在癌症中的免疫抑制功能,然后详细地综述食药用菌多糖对髓源性抑制细胞作用的研究进展,以期为食药用菌多糖在肿瘤免疫药物开发及辅助增强(如免疫检查点抑制剂)等免疫治疗提供新思路。     

肿瘤发生过程中髓源性抑制细胞能量代谢的特点

髓源性抑制细胞(myeloid-derived suppressor cells, MDSCs)作为免疫调节细胞,在肿瘤发生和发展中起重要作用。糖代谢参与MDSCs功能的调节,但是,对于肿瘤进程中MDSCs代谢水平的变化,相关报道甚少。基于此,本研究利用小鼠肿瘤模型,采用流式细胞术先后分析肿瘤发生中MDSCs的丰度、周期及线粒体质量,利用ELISA试剂盒检测MDSCs乙酰辅酶A的含量,并在2-脱氧-D-葡萄糖(2-deoxy-D-glucose, 2-DG)改变糖代谢水平之后检测线粒体质量和细胞凋亡。结果发现:肿瘤发生中MDSCs的丰度明显增加,进入分裂期的细胞数增多;肿瘤状态下MDSCs乙酰辅酶A的含量增加,线粒体质量显著增加; 2-DG处理后,肿瘤条件下MDSCs的线粒体质量恢复至正常水平且细胞凋亡减少。以上结果表明,在肿瘤发生过程中, MDSCs主要依赖氧化磷酸化代谢获取能量,改变其糖代谢水平可能导致细胞功能变化。     

PEPITEM:新型B细胞来源肽段参与调控T细胞向炎症部位募集过程

<正>炎症反应是机体一项重要自我保护机制,涉及多种免疫细胞向炎症部位募集。募集是高度调控的过程,任何环节失调都可能导致病理性炎症反应甚至慢性炎症性疾病的发生。前期研究发现在多种炎症性疾病中均存在T细胞过度募集现象,然而具体机制尚不清楚。已知T细胞向炎症部位的募集依赖于与内皮细胞之间的相互作用,在多种细胞因子作用下血液中的T细胞被内皮细胞捕获并穿过血管内皮细胞进入炎性组织。近期来自英国伯明翰大学的研究团队发现一种新型B细胞来源多肽,并提出一种,(     

NF-κB在调控肿瘤细胞凋亡中的作用

细胞凋亡在维持细胞动态平衡和机体稳定方面发挥重要作用。核转录因子κB(nuclear factors κB,NF-κB)参与细胞生长、分化及炎症反应等基因表达调控,同时参与了肿瘤的发生、发展及转移,一度被认为是肿瘤治疗的靶点之一。近年来研究发现,NF-κB活化在炎症诱发的肿瘤形成中发挥重要作用,但同时发现NF-κB活化也可发挥促凋亡作用,抑制肿瘤发生发展。对NF-κB在肿瘤形成中两方面作用的认识,为肿瘤临床治疗提供理论依据。     

非可控性炎症的恶性转化

炎症和肿瘤之间存在内源性及外源性两条通路,它们在非可控性炎症恶性转化的过程中起重要作用.机体内有多种消炎机制的存在,当炎性因素如组织损伤或者感染消除后,炎症很快结束;如果存在持续的或低强度刺激时,炎症将不可控制.在非可控性炎症状态下,炎症介质尤其是活性氧氮介质引起原癌基因活化和抑癌基因灭活,启动肿瘤;NF-κ B和STAT3通路活化后与促炎细胞因子间存在正反馈循环,共同促进肿瘤的发展,新生血管的形成,上皮间质转化(EMT)的发生;炎症细胞释放的金属蛋白酶(MMP)有利于肿瘤的侵袭和转移.此外,肿瘤微环境中的炎症细胞如肿瘤相关性巨噬细胞(TAMs)、骨髓来源抑制细胞(MD-sC),炎症介质如肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)等影响肿瘤发生、发展及侵袭转移.研究非可控性炎症恶性转化的机制可为肿瘤的预防和治愈提供新的思路.     

炎症细胞因子在肿瘤微环境中的作用及其作为治疗靶点的研究进展

肿瘤相关炎症是近年来肿瘤免疫领域的研究热点。炎症被称为恶性肿瘤的第八大生物学特征,其在肿瘤发生发展、侵袭转移过程中发挥重要作用。肿瘤微环境中存在大量的炎症细胞因子,如IL-1、IL-6、IL-12、IL-17、TNF-α和TGF-β,它们不仅可以募集炎症细胞到肿瘤部位,放大炎症效应,还可促进肿瘤细胞生长和转移,促进肿瘤血管、淋巴管生成。现主要从炎症细胞因子及肿瘤微环境入手,旨在探讨炎症细胞因子介导的慢性炎症在肿瘤发生发展过程中的重要作用,及其作为肿瘤治疗靶点的转化医学的研究进展及展望。     

HSP90及其抑制剂对肿瘤免疫反应的影响

HSP90作为一种热休克蛋白参与调控蛋白质的正确折叠、装配和水解等多种生理过程,其在肿瘤组织中异常表达与活化,与恶性肿瘤的发生发展密切相关,是肿瘤药物研发的重要靶标,目前已有多个HSP90抑制剂进入临床研究。近年来研究发现,HSP90在调控机体固有性免疫和适应性免疫反应中也发挥着重要的作用,包括抗原呈递、T细胞、NK细胞活化和DC(树突状细胞)的成熟,以及肿瘤微环境的免疫抑制等。抑制HSP90导致免疫抑制和免疫激活双重反应,因此,HSP90在机体免疫中作用复杂,有待人们进一步研究。本文主要综述了HSP90及其抑制剂与肿瘤免疫之间的联系,为今后相关研究人员的工作提供参考。     

Signaling pathways involved in MDSC regulation

The immune system has evolved mechanisms to protect the host from the deleterious effects of inflammation. The generation of immune suppressive cells like myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that can counteract T cell responses represents one such strategy. There is an accumulation of immature myeloid cells or MDSCs in bone marrow (BM) and lymphoid organs under pathological conditions such as cancer. MDSCs represent a population of heterogeneous myeloid cells comprising of macrophages, granulocytes and dendritic cells that are at early stages of development. Although, the precise signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that lead to MDSC generation and expansion in cancer remains to be elucidated. It is widely believed that perturbation of signaling pathways involved during normal hematopoietic and myeloid development under pathological conditions such as tumorogenesis contributes to the development of suppressive myeloid cells. In this review we discuss the role played by key signaling pathways such as PI3K, Ras, Jak/Stat and TGFb during myeloid development and how their deregulation under pathological conditions can lead to the generation of suppressive myeloid cells or MDSCs. Targeting these pathways should help in elucidating mechanisms that lead to the expansion of MDSCs in cancer and point to methods for eliminating these cells from the tumor microenvironment.     

肥胖微环境促进脂肪纤维化的发病机制研究进展

现代研究发现脂肪组织的功能不仅仅只是储存以及释放脂类,还作为人体的内分泌腺,在维持机体代谢平衡方面具有重要的作用。而肥胖状态时脂肪组织的分泌功能紊乱,炎症因子与脂肪因子分泌失衡,打破了机体的代谢平衡。更糟糕的是,脂肪组织形成慢性低度炎症以及缺氧微环境,引起胶原的异常沉积,脂肪组织纤维化,从而破坏脂肪组织正常功能,可能进一步导致糖尿病以及肿瘤的产生。因此,本文主要概述肥胖引起的慢性炎症和缺氧微环境通过分泌炎症因子、上调缺氧诱导因子的表达,进而改变脂肪细胞外基质的组成,最终促进脂肪纤维化的发生的机制。     

The role of myofibroblasts in upregulation of S100A8 and S100A9 and the differentiation of myeloid cells in the colorectal cancer microenvironment

Background/aimS100A8/A9 and myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment play an important role in cancer invasion and progression, and the effect of tumor-infiltrated myofibroblasts on myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment is relatively unknown. Accordingly, we investigated the role of myofibroblasts in the upregulation of S100A8/A9 as well as in the differentiation of myeloid cells in the colorectal cancer (CRC) microenvironment.Materials and methodsTo investigate the interactions among cancer cells, myofibroblasts, and inflammatory cells in the microenvironment of CRC, we used 10 CRC cell lines, 18CO cells and THP-1 cells, which were co-cultured with each other or cultured in conditioned media (CM) of other cells. Expression of S100A8/A9 was evaluated via Western blot, immunohistochemical staining and immunofluorescence. The secreted factors from the cell lines were analyzed using cytokine antibody array. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to analyze the differentiation markers of myeloid cells.Results18CO CM induced increased expression of S100A8/A9 in THP-1 cells. Increased expression of S100A8/A9 was noted in inflammatory cells of the peri- and intra-tumoral areas, along with myofibroblasts in colon cancer tissue. S100A8/A9-expressing inflammatory cells also exhibited CD68 expression in colon cancer tissue, and 18CO CM induced differentiation of THP-1 cells into myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) or M2 macrophages expressing S100A8/A9. Significant amounts of IL-6 and IL-8 were detected in 18CO CM, compared to those in both controls and THP-1 CM, and tumor-infiltrated myofibroblasts expressed IL-8 in colon cancer tissue. Finally, neutralizing antibodies to IL-6 and IL-8 attenuated 18CO CM-induced increased expression of S100A8/A9.ConclusionsThe upregulation of S100A8/A9 in tumor-infiltrated myeloid cells could be triggered by IL-6 and IL-8 released from myofibroblasts, and myofibroblasts might induce the differentiation of myeloid cells into S100A8/9-expressing MDSCs or M2 macrophages in the CRC microenvironment.     

Chronic intake of high fish oil diet induces myeloid-derived suppressor cells to promote tumor growth

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids enriched fish oil exerts beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in animal models with acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), comprised of myeloid progenitors and precursors of myeloid cells, play vital roles in cancer. How fish oil affects the generation of MDSCs and the tumor development remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that dietary intake of high fish oil diet suppresses CD8⁺ T cells activation and proliferation in vivo via elevated levels of MDSCs. Mechanistically, high fish oil diet induces the expression of immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10 and promotes myelopoiesis in the spleen as well as other peripheral tissues. The immature myeloid cells in the spleen exhibit morphological and functional characteristics of MDSCs with the capability to downregulate CD8⁺ T cells activation. Depletion of MDSCs using anti-Gr-1 antibody decreases the growth of subcutaneously transferred B16 melanoma in mice on high fish oil diet. Interestingly, diet-induced production of MDSCs is not solely dependent of the spleen, as splenectomy has no effect on the tumor progress. Our data show that the liver functions as an alternative extramedullary hematopoiesis organ to support MDSCs differentiation and maintain tumor growth. Taken together, our study provides a novel insight into the physiological effects of fish oil and points to MDSCs as a possible mediator linking dietary fish oil intake and immunosuppression in cancer immunosurveillance.     

Circulating and Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Patients with Colorectal Carcinoma

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous family of myeloid cells that suppress T cell immunity in tumor-bearing hosts. In patients with colon cancer, MDSCs have recently been described as Lin^−/lowHLA-DR⁻CD11b⁺CD33⁺ cells correlating with cancer stage, metastasis and chemotherapy response. To learn in more detail the dynamic change and clinical relevance of circulating and tumor-infiltrating Lin^−/lowHLA-DR⁻CD11b⁺CD33⁺ MDSC in colorectal cancer, we harvested the blood from 64 patients with varying stage of colorectal cancer and tumor and matched paraneoplastic tissues from 5 patients with advanced colorectal cancer, subjected them to multicolor flow cytometric analysis of percentage, absolute number and phenotype of MDSC and finally characterized their immunosuppressive functions. Our results demonstrate that peripheral blood from colorectal cancer patients contains markedly increased percentage and absolute number of Lin^−/lowHLA-DR⁻CD11b⁺CD33⁺ MDSCs compared with healthy individuals, and this increase is closely correlated with clinical cancer stage and tumor metastasis but not primary tumor size and serum concentrations of cancer biomarker. A similar increase of MDSCs was also observed in the tumor tissues. Phenotyping MDSCs shows that they express high CD13 and CD39, low CD115, CD117, CD124 and PD-L1, and devoid of CD14, CD15 and CD66b, reminiscent of precursor myeloid cells. MDSCs from cancer patients but not healthy donors have the immunosuppressive activity and were able to inhibit in vitro autologous T-cell proliferation. Collectively, this study substantiates the presence of increased immunosuppressive circulating and tumor-resident Lin^−/lowHLA-DR⁻CD11b⁺CD33⁺ MDSCs in patients with colorectal cancers correlating with cancer stage and metastasis, and suggests that pharmacologic blockade of MDSCs should be considered in future clinical trials.     

Extracellular adenosine metabolism in immune cells in melanoma

Malignant melanoma is characterized by the development of chronic inflammation in the tumor microenvironment, which leads to a strong immunosuppression associated with a rapid tumor progression. Adenosine is considered as one of the main immunosuppressive factors in the tumor environment. It is produced via enzymatic hydrolysis of extracellular ATP by ectonucleotidases CD39 and CD73 localized on cell surface. Using the ret transgenic mouse melanoma model that closely mimics human melanoma, we demonstrated an increased frequency of ectonucleotidase-positive myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in melanoma lesions and lymphoid organs. Furthermore, we observed that conventional CD4⁺FoxP3^? and CD8⁺ T cells infiltrating melanoma lesions of ret transgenic mice were distinctly enriched in the CD39⁺CD73⁺ subpopulation that co-expressed also PD-1. Ectonucleotidase expression was also up-regulated in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells upon activation. In addition, these ectoenzymes were largely found to be expressed on memory T cell compartment (in particular, on effector memory cells). Our data suggest that extracellular adenosine produced by regulatory T cells (Tregs) and MDSCs can suppress T cell effector functions through paracrine signaling. Another mechanism involves its production also by effector T cells and an inhibition of their anti-tumor reactivity via autocrine signaling as a part of the negative feedback loop. This mode of adenosine signaling could be also used by Tregs and MDSCs to enhance their immunosuppressive activity.     

Mast Cells Mobilize Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Treg Cells in Tumor Microenvironment via IL-17 Pathway in Murine Hepatocarcinoma Model

Tumor immunosuppression is commonly braided with chronic inflammation during tumor development. However, the relationship between immunosuppression and inflammation in tumor microenvironment is still unclear. We have demonstrated that mast cells are accumulated and exacerbate the inflammation and immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment via SCF/c-kit signaling pathway. Here, we further elucidate the underlying mechanism, which involves both myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T (Treg) cells. Our data showed that mast cells mobilized the infiltration of MDSCs to tumor and induced the production of IL-17 by MDSCs; MDSCs-derived IL-17 indirectly attracted Treg cells, enhanced their suppressor function, and induced the IL-9 production by Treg cells; in turn, IL-9 strengthened the survival and protumor effect of mast cells in tumor microenvironment. Our findings disclose a closed loop among mast cells, MDSCs and Treg cells in tumor microenvironment, which provides a new insight into the paralleled developments of inflammation and immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment. Based on these findings, we propose that targeting tumor inflammation might be a potential strategy to reverse the immunosuppression of tumor microenvironment, thus facilitating cancer immunotherapy.     

Expression of the B-Cell Receptor Component CD79a on Immature Myeloid Cells Contributes to Their Tumor Promoting Effects

The role of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in promoting tumorigenesis is well-established, and significant effort is being made to further characterize surface markers on MDSCs both for better diagnosis and as potential targets for therapy. Here we show that the B cell receptor adaptor molecule CD79a is unexpectedly expressed on immature bone marrow myeloid cells, and is upregulated on MDSCs generated in multiple different mouse models of metastatic but not non-metastatic cancer. CD79a on MDSCs is upregulated and activated in response to soluble factors secreted by tumor cells. Activation of CD79a on mouse MDSCs, by crosslinking with a specific antibody, maintained their immature phenotype (CD11b+Gr1+), enhanced their migration, increased their suppressive effect on T cell proliferation, and increased secretion of pro-tumorigenic cytokines such as IL-6 and CCL22. Furthermore, crosslinking CD79a on myeloid cells activated signaling through Syk, BLNK, ERK and STAT3 phosphorylation. In vivo, CD79+ myeloid cells showed enhanced ability to promote primary tumor growth and metastasis. Finally we demonstrate that CD79a is upregulated on circulating myeloid cells from lung cancer patients, and that CD79a+ myeloid cells infiltrate human breast tumors. We propose that CD79a plays a functional role in the tumor promoting effects of myeloid cells, and may represent a novel target for cancer therapy.     

DGKs与肿瘤的关系及作用机制研究进展

二酰甘油激酶家族(DGKs)通过调节两种脂质信号(甘油二酯和磷脂酸)之间的平衡在信号转导中起重要作用。哺乳动物的DGKs作为由十种亚型构成的蛋白质家族,根据它们的结构特征将其分为五型。这些亚型可以通过已知和/或预测功能的各种调节结构域,清楚地表明其不同的功能和调节机制。目前大量的研究表明DGKs可通过调节机体的免疫功能及调控多种肿瘤相关信号通路从而对肿瘤细胞的增殖、凋亡、转移起作用。本文就DGKs与肿瘤之间关系及作用机制进行综述,以期为肿瘤的治疗提供新的思路和方法。