Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 28;22(11):5775.
doi: 10.3390/ijms22115775.

Macrophages/Microglia in the Glioblastoma Tumor Microenvironment

Jun Ma  1 , Clark C Chen  1 , Ming Li  1
Affiliations
Review

Macrophages/Microglia in the Glioblastoma Tumor Microenvironment

Jun Ma et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The complex interaction between glioblastoma and its microenvironment has been recognized for decades. Among various immune profiles, the major population is tumor-associated macrophage, with microglia as its localized homolog. The present definition of such myeloid cells is based on a series of cell markers. These good sentinel cells experience significant changes, facilitating glioblastoma development and protecting it from therapeutic treatments. Huge, complicated mechanisms are involved during the overall processes. A lot of effort has been dedicated to crack the mysterious codes in macrophage/microglia recruiting, activating, reprogramming, and functioning. We have made our path. With more and more key factors identified, a lot of new therapeutic methods could be explored to break the ominous loop, to enhance tumor sensitivity to treatments, and to improve the prognosis of glioblastoma patients. However, it might be a synergistic system rather than a series of clear, stepwise events. There are still significant challenges before the light of truth can shine onto the field. Here, we summarize recent advances in this field, reviewing the path we have been on and where we are now.

Keywords: glioblastoma; glioblastoma-associated macrophages/microglia; macrophage; microglia; tumor microenvironment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Pimenta M.G., Otero Á., Guzman D.A.A., Pascual-Argente D., Martín L.R., Sousa-Casasnovas P., García-Martin A., de Oca J.C.R.M., Villaseñor J.J.M., Carretero L.T., et al. Tumor cell and immune cell profiles in primary human glioblastoma: Impact on patient outcome. Brain Pathol. 2021;31:365–380. doi: 10.1111/bpa.12927. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fu W., Wang W., Li H., Jiao Y., Huo R., Yan Z., Wang J., Wang S., Wang J., Chen D., et al. Single-Cell Atlas Reveals Complexity of the Immunosuppressive Microenvironment of Initial and Recurrent Glioblastoma. Front. Immunol. 2020;11:835. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00835. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen Z., Feng X., Herting C.J., Garcia V.A., Nie K., Pong W.W., Rasmussen R., Dwivedi B., Seby S., Wolf S.A., et al. Cellular and Molecular Identity of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Glioblastoma. Cancer Res. 2017;77:2266–2278. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-2310. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azambuja J.H., Ludwig N., Yerneni S.S., Braganhol E., Whiteside T.L. Arginase-1+ Exosomes from Reprogrammed Macrophages Promote Glioblastoma Progression. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020;21:3990. doi: 10.3390/ijms21113990. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gabrusiewicz K., Rodriguez B., Wei J., Hashimoto Y., Healy L.M., Maiti S.N., Thomas G., Zhou S., Wang Q., Elakkad A., et al. Glioblastoma-infiltrated innate immune cells resemble M0 macrophage phenotype. JCI Insight. 2016;1 doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.85841. - DOI - PMC - PubMed