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Macrophage scavenger receptors: Tumor support and tumor inhibition

Elena Kazakova1,2, Pavel Iamshchikov1,2, Irina Larionova1,2,3

  • 1Laboratory of translational cellular and molecular biomedicine, National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia.

Frontiers in Oncology
|January 23, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Macrophage scavenger receptors (SRs) play dual roles in cancer, influencing tumor growth and patient outcomes. Understanding these roles is crucial for developing targeted anti-cancer therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are key components of the tumor microenvironment (TME), comprising up to 50% of tumor mass.
  • Scavenger receptors (SRs) on TAMs mediate interactions within the TME, recognizing and internalizing various ligands.
  • SRs are implicated in regulating cancer cell biology, immune responses, angiogenesis, and metabolism within the TME.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of macrophage scavenger receptors (SRs) in tumor development.
  • To evaluate the significance of TAM-expressed SRs as cancer biomarkers and their prognostic value.
  • To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting SRs in anti-cancer strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Comprehensive literature review of studies on TAM-expressed SRs in animal models and human cancer patients.
  • Analysis of data on the functional roles and prognostic significance of SRs across various human cancer types.
  • Discussion of SRs' involvement in regulating cancer cell biology, TME interactions, and metabolism.

Main Results:

  • TAM-expressed SRs exhibit both tumor-promoting and tumor-inhibiting functions.
  • Significant variations exist in the prognostic and functional roles of SRs depending on the specific cancer type.
  • SRs influence cancer cell biology, cell-cell/matrix interactions, immune status, angiogenesis, and intratumoral metabolism.

Conclusions:

  • Macrophage scavenger receptors are critical regulators of tumor progression and possess prognostic significance in cancer.
  • Targeting tumor-promoting SRs presents a promising therapeutic avenue for anti-cancer therapy.
  • Further research into cancer-type-specific roles of SRs is warranted for effective therapeutic development.
Keywords:
angiogenesiscancerendocytosisextracellular matrixphagocytosisscavenger receptortumor microenvironmenttumor-associated macrophage

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