AUTHOR=Wei Jinfen , Hu Meiling , Du Hongli TITLE=Improving Cancer Immunotherapy: Exploring and Targeting Metabolism in Hypoxia Microenvironment JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.845923 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.845923 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Although immunotherapy has achieved good results in various cancer types, a large proportion of patients are limited from the benefits. Hypoxia and metabolic reprogramming are the common and critical factors that impact immunotherapy response. Here, we present current research on the metabolism reprogramming induced by hypoxia on antitumor immunity and discuss the recent progression among preclinical and clinical trials exploring the therapeutic effects combining targeting hypoxia and metabolism with immunotherapy. By evaluating the little clinical translation of the combined therapy, we provide insight into “understanding and regulating cellular metabolic plasticity under the current tumor microenvironment (TME),” which is essential to explore the strategy for boosting immune responses by targeting the metabolism of tumor cells leading to harsh TMEs. Therefore, we highlight the potential value of advanced single-cell technology in revealing the metabolic heterogeneity and corresponding phenotype of each cell subtype in the current hypoxic lesion from the clinical patients, which can uncover potential metabolic targets and therapeutic windows to enhance immunotherapy.