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Molecular Cancer Oct 2021Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a stromal cell population with cell-of-origin, phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, are the most essential components of the... (Review)
Review
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), a stromal cell population with cell-of-origin, phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, are the most essential components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Through multiple pathways, activated CAFs can promote tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, along with extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and even chemoresistance. Numerous previous studies have confirmed the critical role of the interaction between CAFs and tumor cells in tumorigenesis and development. However, recently, the mutual effects of CAFs and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) have been identified as another key factor in promoting tumor progression. The TIME mainly consists of distinct immune cell populations in tumor islets and is highly associated with the antitumor immunological state in the TME. CAFs interact with tumor-infiltrating immune cells as well as other immune components within the TIME via the secretion of various cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, exosomes and other effector molecules, consequently shaping an immunosuppressive TME that enables cancer cells to evade surveillance of the immune system. In-depth studies of CAFs and immune microenvironment interactions, particularly the complicated mechanisms connecting CAFs with immune cells, might provide novel strategies for subsequent targeted immunotherapies. Herein, we shed light on recent advances regarding the direct and indirect crosstalk between CAFs and infiltrating immune cells and further summarize the possible immunoinhibitory mechanisms induced by CAFs in the TME. In addition, we present current related CAF-targeting immunotherapies and briefly describe some future perspectives on CAF research in the end.
Topics: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Biomarkers, Tumor; Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts; Cell Communication; Disease Susceptibility; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Immune System; Immunity, Innate; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating; Neoplasm Grading; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasms; Signal Transduction; Tumor Microenvironment; Tumor-Associated Macrophages
PubMed: 34635121
DOI: 10.1186/s12943-021-01428-1 -
Nutrients Mar 2020Enthusiasm exists for the potential of diet to impact the immune system, prevent disease and its therapeutic potential. Herein, we describe the challenge to nutrition... (Review)
Review
Enthusiasm exists for the potential of diet to impact the immune system, prevent disease and its therapeutic potential. Herein, we describe the challenge to nutrition scientists in defining this relationship through case studies of diets and nutrients in the context of allergic and autoimmune diseases. Moderate-quality evidence exists from both human intervention and observational studies to suggest that diet and individual nutrients can influence systemic markers of immune function and inflammation; numerous challenges exist for demonstrating the impact of defined diets and nutrient interventions on clearly influencing immune-mediated-clinical disease endpoints. A growing body of evidence suggests that further consideration of dietary patterns, immune system and gut microbiome composition and function, and subsequent epigenetic modifications are needed to improve our understanding of diet-immune system interactions.
Topics: Diet; Disease Susceptibility; Feeding Behavior; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune System; Nutrients; Nutritional Status
PubMed: 32204518
DOI: 10.3390/nu12030818 -
International Journal of Molecular... Apr 2019The skin is a complex organ that has devised numerous strategies, such as physical, chemical, and microbiological barriers, to protect the host from external insults. In... (Review)
Review
The skin is a complex organ that has devised numerous strategies, such as physical, chemical, and microbiological barriers, to protect the host from external insults. In addition, the skin contains an intricate network of immune cells resident to the tissue, crucial for host defense as well as tissue homeostasis. In the event of an insult, the skin-resident immune cells are crucial not only for prevention of infection but also for tissue reconstruction. Deregulation of immune responses often leads to impaired healing and poor tissue restoration and function. In this review, we will discuss the defensive components of the skin and focus on the function of skin-resident immune cells in homeostasis and their role in wound healing.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Disease Susceptibility; Humans; Immune System; Microbiota; Skin; Skin Physiological Phenomena; Wound Healing
PubMed: 31013709
DOI: 10.3390/ijms20081811 -
Nature Reviews. Immunology May 2016The microbiota - the collection of microorganisms that live within and on all mammals - provides crucial signals for the development and function of the immune system.... (Review)
Review
The microbiota - the collection of microorganisms that live within and on all mammals - provides crucial signals for the development and function of the immune system. Increased availability of technologies that profile microbial communities is facilitating the entry of many immunologists into the evolving field of host-microbiota studies. The microbial communities, their metabolites and components are not only necessary for immune homeostasis, they also influence the susceptibility of the host to many immune-mediated diseases and disorders. In this Review, we discuss technological and computational approaches for investigating the microbiome, as well as recent advances in our understanding of host immunity and microbial mutualism with a focus on specific microbial metabolites, bacterial components and the immune system.
Topics: Animals; Disease Susceptibility; Fatty Acids; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Homeostasis; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immune System; Immunity; Immunomodulation; Metagenome; Metagenomics; Microbiota; Receptors, Pattern Recognition; Symbiosis
PubMed: 27231050
DOI: 10.1038/nri.2016.42 -
Clinical Journal of the American... Jul 2015This review serves as an introduction to an Immunology Series for the Nephrologist published in CJASN. It provides a brief overview of the immune system, how it works,... (Review)
Review
This review serves as an introduction to an Immunology Series for the Nephrologist published in CJASN. It provides a brief overview of the immune system, how it works, and why it matters to kidneys. This review describes in broad terms the main divisions of the immune system (innate and adaptive), their cellular and tissue components, and the ways by which they function and are regulated. The story is told through the prism of evolution in order to relay to the reader why the immune system does what it does and why imperfections in the system can lead to renal disease. Detailed descriptions of cell types, molecules, and other immunologic curiosities are avoided as much as possible in an effort to not detract from the importance of the broader concepts that define the immune system and its relationship to the kidney.
Topics: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Biological Evolution; Humans; Immune System; Immunity, Innate; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Lymphocytes; Lymphoid Tissue
PubMed: 25845377
DOI: 10.2215/CJN.10031014 -
Nature Reviews. Immunology Apr 2017Endogenous glucocorticoids are crucial to various physiological processes, including metabolism, development and inflammation. Since 1948, synthetic glucocorticoids have... (Review)
Review
Endogenous glucocorticoids are crucial to various physiological processes, including metabolism, development and inflammation. Since 1948, synthetic glucocorticoids have been used to treat various immune-related disorders. The mechanisms that underlie the immunosuppressive properties of these hormones have been intensely scrutinized, and it is widely appreciated that glucocorticoids have pleiotropic effects on the immune system. However, a clear picture of the cellular and molecular basis of glucocorticoid action has remained elusive. In this Review, we distil several decades of intense (and often conflicting) research that defines the interface between the endocrine stress response and the immune system.
Topics: Animals; Glucocorticoids; Humans; Immune System; Immunosuppressive Agents; Inflammation
PubMed: 28192415
DOI: 10.1038/nri.2017.1 -
Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2017The immune system was identified as a protective factor during infectious diseases over a century ago. Current definitions and textbook information are still largely... (Review)
Review
The immune system was identified as a protective factor during infectious diseases over a century ago. Current definitions and textbook information are still largely influenced by these early observations, and the immune system is commonly presented as a defence machinery. However, host defence is only one manifestation of the immune system's overall function in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and system integrity. In fact, the immune system is integral part of fundamental physiological processes such as development, reproduction and wound healing, and a close crosstalk between the immune system and other body systems such as metabolism, the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system is evident. Research and medical professionals in an expanding range of areas start to recognise the implications of the immune system in their respective fields.This chapter provides a brief historical perspective on how our understanding of the immune system has evolved from a defence system to an overarching surveillance machinery to maintain tissue integrity. Current perspectives on the non-defence functions of classical immune cells and factors will also be discussed.
Topics: Animals; Cell Communication; Cellular Microenvironment; Communicable Diseases; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune System; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 28667551
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-57613-8_1 -
Nature Reviews. Immunology Jan 2017The human immune system is highly variable between individuals but relatively stable over time within a given person. Recent conceptual and technological advances have... (Review)
Review
The human immune system is highly variable between individuals but relatively stable over time within a given person. Recent conceptual and technological advances have enabled systems immunology analyses, which reveal the composition of immune cells and proteins in populations of healthy individuals. The range of variation and some specific influences that shape an individual's immune system is now becoming clearer. Human immune systems vary as a consequence of heritable and non-heritable influences, but symbiotic and pathogenic microbes and other non-heritable influences explain most of this variation. Understanding when and how such influences shape the human immune system is key for defining metrics of immunological health and understanding the risk of immune-mediated and infectious diseases.
Topics: Humans; Immune System
PubMed: 27916977
DOI: 10.1038/nri.2016.125 -
Nutrients Sep 2018Selenium is an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in development and a wide variety of physiological processes including effect immune responses. The... (Review)
Review
Selenium is an essential micronutrient that plays a crucial role in development and a wide variety of physiological processes including effect immune responses. The immune system relies on adequate dietary selenium intake and this nutrient exerts its biological effects mostly through its incorporation into selenoproteins. The selenoproteome contains 25 members in humans that exhibit a wide variety of functions. The development of high-throughput omic approaches and novel bioinformatics tools has led to new insights regarding the effects of selenium and selenoproteins in human immuno-biology. Equally important are the innovative experimental systems that have emerged to interrogate molecular mechanisms underlying those effects. This review presents a summary of the current understanding of the role of selenium and selenoproteins in regulating immune cell functions and how dysregulation of these processes may lead to inflammation or immune-related diseases.
Topics: Adaptive Immunity; Animals; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immune System; Immune System Diseases; Immunity, Innate; Inflammation; Leukocytes; Neoplasms; Selenium; Selenoproteins; Tumor Escape
PubMed: 30200430
DOI: 10.3390/nu10091203 -
Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2017In this chapter, we discuss the manner through which the immune system regulates the cardiovascular system in health and disease. We define the cardiovascular system and... (Review)
Review
In this chapter, we discuss the manner through which the immune system regulates the cardiovascular system in health and disease. We define the cardiovascular system and elements of atherosclerotic disease, the main focus in this chapter. Herein we elaborate on the disease process that can result in myocardial infarction (heart attack), ischaemic stroke and peripheral arterial disease. We have discussed broadly the homeostatic mechanisms in place that help autoregulate the cardiovascular system including the vital role of cholesterol and lipid clearance as well as the role lipid homeostasis plays in cardiovascular disease in the context of atherosclerosis. We then elaborate on the role played by the immune system in this setting, namely, major players from the innate and adaptive immune system, as well as discussing in greater detail specifically the role played by monocytes and macrophages.This chapter should represent an overview of the role played by the immune system in cardiovascular homeostasis; however further reading of the references cited can expand the reader's knowledge of the detail, and we point readers to many excellent reviews which summarise individual immune systems and their role in cardiovascular disease.
Topics: Animals; Arteries; Atherosclerosis; Cell Communication; Humans; Immune System; Immunity, Innate; Lipid Metabolism; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; Risk Factors; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 28667557
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-57613-8_7