title: Tumor-associated myeloid cells as guiding forces of cancer cell stemness.
abstract: Due to their ability to differentiate into various cell types and to support tissue regeneration, stem cells simultaneously became the holy grail of regenerative medicine and the evil obstacle in cancer therapy. Several studies have investigated niche-related conditions that favor stemness properties and increasingly emphasized their association with an inflammatory environment. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are major orchestrators of cancer-related inflammation, able to dynamically express different polarized inflammatory programs that promote tumor outgrowth, including tumor angiogenesis, immunosuppression, tissue remodeling and metastasis formation. In addition, these myeloid populations support cancer cell stemness, favoring tumor maintenance and progression, as well as resistance to anticancer treatments. Here, we discuss inflammatory circuits and molecules expressed by TAMs and MDSCs as guiding forces of cancer cell stemness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy. antonio.sica@uniupo.it.|Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Via Manzoni 56, 20089, Rozzano, Milan, Italy. antonio.sica@uniupo.it.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sica
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Porta
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.|Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amadori
authors.affiliation: Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pastò
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D000072737:Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
keywords: Cancer stem cells; Inflammation; Myeloid-derived suppressor cells; Regulatory myeloid suppressor cells; Tumor-associated macrophages