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Review
. 2021 Aug 31;10(9):2257.
doi: 10.3390/cells10092257.

The Interplay between Glioblastoma and Its Microenvironment

Mark Dapash  1   2 , David Hou  1 , Brandyn Castro  1   3 , Catalina Lee-Chang  1   4 , Maciej S Lesniak  1   4
Affiliations
Review

The Interplay between Glioblastoma and Its Microenvironment

Mark Dapash et al. Cells. .

Abstract

GBM is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and the aggressive nature of this tumor contributes to its extremely poor prognosis. Over the years, the heterogeneous and adaptive nature of GBM has been highlighted as a major contributor to the poor efficacy of many treatments including various immunotherapies. The major challenge lies in understanding and manipulating the complex interplay among the different components within the tumor microenvironment (TME). This interplay varies not only by the type of cells interacting but also by their spatial distribution with the TME. This review highlights the various immune and non-immune components of the tumor microenvironment and their consequences of the efficacy of immunotherapies. Understanding the independent and interdependent aspects of the various sub-populations encapsulated by the immune and non-immune components will allow for more targeted therapies. Meanwhile, understanding how the TME creates and responds to different environmental pressures such as hypoxia may allow for other multimodal approaches in the treatment of GBM. Ultimately, a better understanding of the GBM TME will aid in the development and advancement of more effective treatments and in improving patient outcomes.

Keywords: blood-brain-barrier; glioblastoma; immune cells; immunosuppression; microenvironment; regulatory T cells; tumor-associated myeloid cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) GBM tumor microenvironment and its components; (b) components of the GBM TME and their contributions to the immunosuppression, proliferation, invasion, and treatment resistance seen in these tumors.
Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) GBM tumor microenvironment and its components; (b) components of the GBM TME and their contributions to the immunosuppression, proliferation, invasion, and treatment resistance seen in these tumors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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