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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Studying the Effects of Tumor-Secreted Paracrine Ligands on Macrophage Activation using Co-Culture with Permeable Membrane Supports
Published on: November 28, 2019
Therapeutic targeting of toll-like receptor pathways in tumor-associated macrophages
Lei Wang1, Yinghua Li2, Zehua He1
1Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Drug Target Identification and Delivery, and the Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody of the Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Innovative Immunotherapy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are central regulators of the tumor microenvironment (TME), shaping immune suppression, tumor progression, and therapeutic resistance. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) orchestrate innate immune activation and represent a compelling axis for reprogramming TAMs toward antitumor states. However, the context-dependent nature of TLR signaling, combined with metabolic and tolerogenic constraints in the TME, presents substantial translational barriers. Nevertheless, recent advances including chimeric antigen receptor macrophage (CAR-M) and antibody-TLR agonist conjugates offer new pathways to harness TLR signaling with improved precision and safety. This review summarizes the molecular foundations of TLR signaling in macrophages, dissects the bidirectional consequences of TLR activation within tumors, evaluates current therapeutic platforms, and outlines a translational roadmap to guide the clinical development of TLR-based TAM modulation.
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