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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1375528
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing Innate Immunity in Combination Therapy for Solid Tumors View all 4 articles

Understanding tissue-resident macrophages unlocks the potential for novel combinatorial strategies in breast cancer

Provisionally accepted
MANJUSHA BISWAS MANJUSHA BISWAS 1,2*
  • 1 University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • 2 University of Bonn, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Tissue-resident macrophages (TRMs) are an integral part of the innate immune system, but their biology is not well understood. Distinctive resident macrophage populations are identified in different organs in mice and in human tissues using fate mapping studies. They develop from the yolk sac and self-maintain themselves lifelong in specific tissular niches. Similarly, breast resident macrophages are part of the mammary gland microenvironment. They reside in the breast adipose tissue stroma close to the ductal epithelium and help in morphogenesis. In breast cancer, reprogrammed TRMs may promote disease progression and metastasis, however precise mechanisms have not been elucidated. TRMs interact intimately with recruited macrophages, cytotoxic T cells and other immune cells along with cancer cells, deciding further immunosuppressive or cytotoxic pathways. Moreover, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is generally associated with poor outcomes, can harbor specific TRM phenotypes. The influence of TRMs on adipose tissue stroma of the mammary gland also contributes to tumor progression. The complex crosstalk between TRMs with T cells, stroma and breast cancer cells can establish a cascade of downstream events, understanding which can offer new insight for drug discovery and upcoming treatment choices. This review aims to acknowledge the previous research done in this regard while exploring existing research gaps and the future therapeutic potential of TRMs as a combination or single agent in breast cancer.

    Keywords: Breast cancer 1, Tissue resident macrophage 2, Macrophage ontogeny 3, tumor microenvironment 4, Immunotherapy 5

    Received: 24 Jan 2024; Accepted: 14 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 BISWAS. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: MANJUSHA BISWAS, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.