Tumor-associated macrophages in osteosarcoma

Abstract

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone tumor in children and adolescents. It is an aggressive tumor with a tendency to spread to the lung, which is the most common site of metastasis. Patients with advanced OS with metastases have poor prognoses despite the application of chemotherapy, thus highlighting the need for novel therapeutic targets. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of OS is confirmed to be essential for and supportive of tumor growth and dissemination. The immune component of the OS microenvironment is mainly composed of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). In OS, TAMs promote tumor growth and angiogenesis and upregulate the cancer stem cell-like phenotype. However, TAMs inhibit the metastasis of OS. Therefore, much attention has been paid to investigating the mechanism of TAMs in OS development and the progression of immunotherapy for OS. In this article, we aim to summarize the roles of TAMs in OS and the major findings on the application of TAMs in OS treatment.

Keywords: Osteosarcoma; Tumor microenvironment; Tumor-associated macrophage.

Fig. 1. TAM polarization and the function of M1-type and M2-type TAMs. TAM, tumor-associated macrophage; M1, M1-type TAM; M2, M2-type TAM; IL, interleukin; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; IFN, interferon; ROS, reactive oxygen species; NO, nitric oxide; NF-κB, nuclear factor-κB; CD, cluster of differentiation.