Kai‑Hung Wanga, Dah‑Ching Dingb,c*
aDepartment of Medical Research, Hualien Tzu ChiHospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien, Taiwan, bDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation and Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, cInstitute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were applied to the therapy for degenerative diseases, immune, and inflammation. In tumor microenvironments (TME), different sources of MSCs showed that tumor‑promoting and ‑ inhibiting effects were mediated by different signaling pathways. Cancer‑associated MSCs (CaMSCs) could be recruited from bone marrow or local tissues and mainly showed tumor‑promoting and immunosuppressive effects. The transformed CaMSCs preserve the characteristics of stem cells, but the properties of regulating TME are different. Hence, we specifically focus on CaMSCs and discuss the detailed mechanisms of regulating the development of cancer cells and immune cells. CaMSCs could be a potential therapeutic target in various types of cancer. However, the detailed mechanisms of CaMSCs in the TME are relatively less known and need further study.
Keywords: Cancer, Immunosuppression, Mesenchymal stem cells, Microenvironment
