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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1467602
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing T Cell Function: Innovations in Cancer Immunotherapy View all 7 articles

Targeting extracellular matrix stiffness for cancer therapy

Provisionally accepted
Xiuqing Feng Xiuqing Feng Fujun Cao Fujun Cao Xiangji Wu Xiangji Wu Ping Wang Ping Wang *Hong Jiang Hong Jiang *
  • Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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

    The physical characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) include solid stress, interstitial fluid pressure, tissue stiffness and microarchitecture. Among them, abnormal changes in tissue stiffness hinder drug delivery, inhibit infiltration of immune killer cells to the tumor site, and contribute to tumor resistance to immunotherapy.Therefore, targeting tissue stiffness to increase the infiltration of drugs and immune cells can offer a powerful support and opportunities to improve the immunotherapy efficacy in solid tumors. In this review, we discuss the mechanical properties of tumors, the impact of a stiff TME on tumor cells and immune cells, and the strategies to modulate tumor mechanics.

    Keywords: Mechanical properties, matrix stiffness, tumor microenvironment, immunotherapy, solid tumors Abbreviations ECM, Extracellular matrix, CAF, cancer associated fibroblast, LOX, Lysyl oxidase, IGF, insulin-like growth factor, EGF, epidermal growth factor, TGF-β, transforming growth factor β, VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor, MMPs, matrix metalloproteinases

    Received: 20 Jul 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Feng, Cao, Wu, Wang and Jiang. 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:
    Ping Wang, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
    Hong Jiang, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    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.