Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2025

Author Spotlight: Unlocking Insights into the Immune Cell Landscape of Tumors
Published on: August 18, 2023
The epigenetic hallmarks of immune cells in cancer
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China.
Abstract:
Targeting the dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms in cancer has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. Although the significant rationale progress of epigenetic therapies in blocking cancer cells, how epigenetic regulation shapes tumor microenvironment (TME) and establishes antitumor immunity remains less understood. Recent study focus has been put on the epigenetic-mediated changes in the fate of immune cells, including the differentiation, expansion, recruitment, functionalization, and exhaustion of T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), dendritic cells (DCs), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and B cells within the TME. Here, we review the latest molecular and clinical insights into how DNA modifications, histone modification, and epitranscriptome-related regulations shape immune cells of various cancers. We also discuss opportunities for leveraging epigenetic therapies to improve cancer immunotherapies. This review provides the epigenetic foundations of cancer immunity and proposes the future direction of combination therapies.
Related Concept Videos
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
The Tumor Microenvironment
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Somatic...

