Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer progression: unraveling the immunosuppressive module driving therapy resistance

Abstract Cancer cells undergo phenotypic switching (cancer cell plasticity) in response to microenvironmental cues, including exposure to therapy/treatment. Phenotypic plasticity enables the cancer cells to acquire more mesenchymal traits promoting cancer cells’ growth, survival, therapy resistance, and disease recurrence. A significant program in cancer cell plasticity is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), wherein a comprehensive reprogramming of gene expression occurs to facilitate the translational shift from epithelial-to-mesenchymal phenotypes resulting in increased invasiveness and metastasis. In addition, EMT plays a pivotal role in facilitating cancer cells’ escape from the body’s immune system using several mechanisms, such as the downregulation of major histocompatibility complex–mediated antigen presentation, upregulation of immune checkpoint molecules, and recruitment of immune-suppressive cells. Cancer cells’ ability to undergo phenotypic switching and EMT-driven immune escape presents a formidable obstacle in cancer management, highlighting the need to unravel the intricate mechanisms underlying these processes and develop novel therapeutic strategies. This article discusses the role of EMT in promoting immune evasion and therapy resistance. We also discuss the ongoing research on developing therapeutic approaches targeting intrinsic and induced cell plasticity within the immune suppressive microenvironment. We believe this review article will update the current research status and equip researchers, clinicians, and other healthcare professionals with valuable insights enhancing their existing knowledge and shedding light on promising directions for future cancer research. This will facilitate the development of innovative strategies for managing therapy-resistant cancers and improving patient outcomes..

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:43

Enthalten in:

Cancer and metastasis reviews - 43(2023), 1 vom: 30. Sept., Seite 155-173

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Singh, Deepti [VerfasserIn]
Siddique, Hifzur R. [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext [lizenzpflichtig]

BKL:

44.81

Themen:

Cancer cell plasticity
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
Immune evasion
Immunotherapy resistance
Phenotypic switching

Anmerkungen:

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

doi:

10.1007/s10555-023-10141-y

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

SPR055516076