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Updated: Aug 9, 2025

Isolation and Culture Expansion of Tumor-specific Endothelial Cells
Published on: October 14, 2015
High endothelial venules in cancer: Regulation, function, and therapeutic implication
Gerlanda Vella1, Yichao Hua1, Gabriele Bergers1
1Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Therapeutic Resistance, Department of Oncology, VIB-Center for Cancer Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Inducing tumor high endothelial venules (TU-HEVs) can enhance cancer immunotherapy by increasing T cell infiltration. This review explores TU-HEV formation in tumors versus lymph nodes to improve anti-tumor immunity.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Insufficient intratumoral CD8+ T lymphocytes limit cancer immunotherapy effectiveness.
- High endothelial venules (HEVs) facilitate lymphocyte trafficking to lymphoid organs.
- Tumor HEVs (TU-HEVs) can form in cancers, promoting T cell aggregation and improving prognosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review HEV formation and regulation in both lymph nodes and tumors.
- To discuss the function and significance of TU-HEVs in anti-tumor immunity.
- To explore therapeutic induction of TU-HEVs for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on HEV formation and function.
- Comparative analysis of HEVs in lymph nodes and tumor microenvironments.
- Discussion of the role of TU-HEVs in anti-tumor immune responses.
Main Results:
- Commonalities and differences in HEV formation between lymph nodes and tumors exist.
- TU-HEVs contribute to tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) associated with favorable outcomes.
- TU-HEVs are crucial for T cell infiltration into tumors.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic induction of TU-HEVs offers a promising strategy to overcome T cell exclusion in cancer.
- Understanding TU-HEV biology can aid in developing more effective cancer immunotherapies.
- TU-HEVs play a significant role in eliciting, predicting, and supporting anti-tumor immunity.
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