Cell Rep: targeting tumor microenvironment helps to suppress cancer

February 5, 2020 / BIOON / -- the human immune system regulates and controls the recognition of microbial infection and the invasion of foreign bodies This natural immune response relies on important metabolic and cellular processes to fight infection and other diseases However, immune system related reactions are also involved in the development of systemic diseases and cancer Therefore, it is important to further understand the basic biochemical processes involved in the cellular response of the immune system, and help to develop new therapies for systemic diseases and cancer The complexity of the immune system includes different cell types There are two types of macrophages: M1 and M2, which are involved in the inflammatory defense mechanism (M1) and also in the healing process (M2) M2 macrophages also bind to cancer cells and promote their growth (tumor associated macrophages, TAM) (image source: www Pixabay Com) in this new study, wolfram Weckwerth, a systems biologist and biochemist, and Thomas weichart, an immunologist, discovered a new "biochemical switch" involving the polarization and proliferation of M2 macrophages This biochemical checkpoint branches from the glycolysis pathway (the main pathway of glucose decomposition in human metabolism), providing raw materials for rapid cell proliferation and differentiation If this pathway is inhibited, M2 polarization and proliferation will be inhibited This phenomenon has a direct impact on the understanding of TAM and the treatment of cancer "Our hypothesis is that if we inhibit the growth of M2 macrophages in the microenvironment of cancer cells, we can eliminate the promotion of cancer growth." Wolfram Weckwerth said Thomas weichhart and wolfram Weckwerth laboratories are now focusing on studying this mechanism in more detail and developing potential cancer cell treatment strategies Information source: targeting the cancer microenvironment original source: Jayne Louise Wilson et al Inverse data driven modeling and multinomics analysis reveals phgdh as a metallic checkpoint of macrophase polarization and promotion Cell reports 30, 1542 – 1552 February 4, 2020 Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.01.011