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Cancer stem cell-immune cell crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment for liver cancer progression

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Abstract

Crosstalk between cancer cells and the immune microenvironment is determinant for liver cancer progression. A tumor subpopulation called liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) significantly accounts for the initiation, metastasis, therapeutic resistance, and recurrence of liver cancer. Emerging evidence demonstrates that the interaction between liver CSCs and immune cells plays a crucial role in shaping an immunosuppressive microenvironment and determining immunotherapy responses. This review sheds light on the bidirectional crosstalk between liver CSCs and immune cells for liver cancer progression, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms after presenting an overview of liver CSCs characteristic and their microenvironment. Finally, we discuss the potential application of liver CSCs-targeted immunotherapy for liver cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 82273176, 81902894, 81972779, 81903036, 81622039, 81830054, 91859205, and 81988101), Chinese National Key Project (No. 2018ZX10723204-006-003), Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education Project (No. 201901070007E00065), and Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader (No. 23XD1404800).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Center, First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China

    Yue Ma, Hongwei Lv, Fuxue Xing, Wei Xiang, Zixin Wu, Qiyu Feng, Hongyang Wang & Wen Yang

  2. National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, 201805, China

    Yue Ma, Hongwei Lv, Fuxue Xing, Wei Xiang, Zixin Wu, Qiyu Feng, Hongyang Wang & Wen Yang

  3. International Co-operation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, 200438, China

    Hongwei Lv, Hongyang Wang & Wen Yang

  4. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Hepato-biliary Tumor Biology, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Hongyang Wang & Wen Yang

  5. Key Laboratory of Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Hongyang Wang & Wen Yang

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  1. Yue Ma
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  5. Zixin Wu
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  6. Qiyu Feng
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  7. Hongyang Wang
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  8. Wen Yang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hongyang Wang or Wen Yang.

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Yue Ma, Hongwei Lv, Fuxue Xing, Wei Xiang, Zixin Wu, Qiyu Feng, Hongyang Wang, and Wen Yang declare no potential conflicts of interest. This manuscript is a review article and does not involve a research protocol requiring approval by the relevant institutional review board or ethics committee.

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Ma, Y., Lv, H., Xing, F. et al. Cancer stem cell-immune cell crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment for liver cancer progression. Front. Med. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-023-1049-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-023-1049-z

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