MDSC checkpoint blockade therapy: a new breakthrough point overcoming immunosuppression in cancer immunotherapy

IF 4.8 3区医学 Q1 BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

Cancer gene therapy Pub Date : 2025-03-26 DOI:10.1038/s41417-025-00886-9

Abdulrahman Ibrahim, Nada Mohamady Farouk Abdalsalam, Zihao Liang, Hafiza Kashaf Tariq, Rong Li, Lukman O. Afolabi, Lawan Rabiu, Xuechen Chen, Shu Xu, Zhiming Xu, Xiaochun Wan, Dehong Yan

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Abstract

Despite the success of cancer immunotherapy in treating hematologic malignancies, their efficacy in solid tumors remains limited due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), which is mainly formed by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). MDSCs not only exert potent immunosuppressive effects that hinder the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and adaptive cellular therapies, but they also promote tumor advancement through non-immunological pathways, including promoting angiogenesis, driving epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and contributing to the establishment of pre-metastatic environments. While targeting MDSCs alone or in combination with conventional therapies has shown limited success, emerging evidence suggests that MDSC checkpoint blockade in combination with other immunotherapies holds great promise in overcoming both immunological and non-immunological barriers. In this review, we discussed the dual roles of MDSCs, with a particular emphasis on their underexplored checkpoints blockade strategies. We discussed the rationale behind combination strategies, their potential advantages in overcoming MDSC-mediated immunosuppression, and the challenges associated with their development. Additionally, we highlight future research directions aimed at optimizing combination immunotherapies to enhance cancer therapeutic effectiveness, particularly in solid tumor therapies where MDSCs are highly prevalent.

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来源期刊

Cancer gene therapy 医学-生物工程与应用微生物

CiteScore

10.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

150

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Cancer Gene Therapy is the essential gene and cellular therapy resource for cancer researchers and clinicians, keeping readers up to date with the latest developments in gene and cellular therapies for cancer. The journal publishes original laboratory and clinical research papers, case reports and review articles. Publication topics include RNAi approaches, drug resistance, hematopoietic progenitor cell gene transfer, cancer stem cells, cellular therapies, homologous recombination, ribozyme technology, antisense technology, tumor immunotherapy and tumor suppressors, translational research, cancer therapy, gene delivery systems (viral and non-viral), anti-gene therapy (antisense, siRNA & ribozymes), apoptosis; mechanisms and therapies, vaccine development, immunology and immunotherapy, DNA synthesis and repair. Cancer Gene Therapy publishes the results of laboratory investigations, preclinical studies, and clinical trials in the field of gene transfer/gene therapy and cellular therapies as applied to cancer research. Types of articles published include original research articles; case reports; brief communications; review articles in the main fields of drug resistance/sensitivity, gene therapy, cellular therapy, tumor suppressor and anti-oncogene therapy, cytokine/tumor immunotherapy, etc.; industry perspectives; and letters to the editor.