Crosstalk Between Immunometabolic Pathways in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Immunometabolic reprogramming has emerged as a key regulator of both innate and adaptive immune responses. In NSCLC, immunometabolism not only sustains tumor growth but also enables immune evasion through altering the immune cell behavior within the tumor microenvironment. Despite multiple signaling pathways having been implicated in the process, the integration of inflammatory cytokines and metabolic signaling underlying autophagy dysregulation in NSCLC remains unexplored.

From a cellular perspective, the review summarizes the immunometabolic and regulatory functions of IL-6 and IL-17 in inflammaphagy and their integration into immunometabolic networks. The conserved contributions of key regulatory pathways, including BMP, DUSP, FOXO, SPROUTY, and STING, in shaping immune cell metabolism and tumor progression were also underscored.

A narrative review of recent literature was performed focusing on integrating findings from experimental and clinical studies to construct a unified framework defining cytokine interactions, immune metabolism, and tumor progression.

IL-6 and IL-17 are critical regulators for metabolically adapting tumor cells while influencing macrophages, T-cells, neutrophils, and other immune subsets towards attaining a metabolic shift. Additionally, conserved trajectories of BMP, DUSP, FOXO, SPROUTY, and STING modulate metabolic homeostasis for tumor development, highlighting their crosstalk between inflammatory and metabolic networks.

Advances in understanding the interconnected role of inflammatory cytokines, autophagy, and metabolism may identify novel therapeutic targets and improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy towards achieving the goal of precision oncology.