Background
Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) combined with chemotherapy has demonstrated higher response rates than chemotherapy alone in resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Although tumor microenvironment (TME) features a…
Background
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a recalcitrant malignancy with limited responses to immunotherapy, largely due to its uniquely immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the molecular mechanisms driving this phenotype remain …
Background
Humanized mice are highly valuable models for the preclinical development of cancer immunotherapies. However, conventional models often fail to mount robust and trackable tumor antigen-specific (TA-specific) T-cell responses, which hinders …
Background
Tumor-associated macrophages are pivotal drivers of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. However, the functional contributions of proliferating macrophages (Prolif Ms) within the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain poorly defined.
M…
Background
Antigen-specific CD8+ T cells can be in a stem-like programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)+TCF-1+ differentiation state that progresses into terminal exhaustion in cancer and chronic infection. These stem-like cells are important, since the…
Background
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play a pivotal role in shaping the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, thereby driving tumor progression and contributing to resistance to therapy. The surface molecules expressed on MDSCs serv…
Background
Natural killer (NK) cells are key effectors in antitumor immunity, yet their function is markedly suppressed by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in the tumor microenvironment. SMAD7 is an established intracellular antagonist o…
Background
Checkpoint blockade therapies have demonstrated clinical benefit across multiple cancer types; however, many patients with immune cell infiltration remain non-responsive or develop resistance. This suggests that additional, unidentified reg…
Background and aims
Human solid tumors such as hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) establish a complex immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) that undermines the efficacy of existing immunotherapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell…
Background
Immune exclusion inhibits antitumor immunity and response to immunotherapy, but its mechanisms remain poorly defined. In triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive and generally immune-rich subtype, an immune-cold microenvironment …
