Discover Oncology (Oct 2024)

The two-sided battlefield of tumour-associated macrophages in glioblastoma: unravelling their therapeutic potential

  • Jingwen Xiong,
  • Xuancheng Zhou,
  • Lanqian Su,
  • Lai Jiang,
  • Ziwei Ming,
  • Can Pang,
  • Claire Fuller,
  • Ke Xu,
  • Hao Chi,
  • Xiaomei Zheng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-01464-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract Gliomas are the most common primary malignant tumours of the central nervous system (CNS), which are highly aggressive, with increasing morbidity and mortality rates year after year, posing a serious threat to the quality and expected survival time of patients. The treatment of gliomas is a major challenge in the field of neuro-oncology, especially high-grade gliomas such as glioblastomas (GBMs). Despite considerable progress in recent years in the study of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of GBMs, their prognosis remains bleak. Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) account for up to 50% of GBMs, and they are a highly heterogeneous cell population whose role cannot be ignored. Here, we focus on reviewing the contribution of classically activated M1-phenotype TAMs and alternatively activated M2-phenotype TAMs to GBMs, and exploring the research progress in reprogramming M1 TAMs into M2 TAMs.

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