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Review
. 2016 Sep 28;380(1):253-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2015.10.022. Epub 2015 Oct 28.

Expansion and functions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment

Peng Qu  1 , Li-Zhen Wang  1 , P Charles Lin  2
Affiliations
Review

Expansion and functions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment

Peng Qu et al. Cancer Lett. .

Abstract

Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a group of immature myeloid cells accumulated in most cancer patients and mouse tumor models. MDSCs suppress host immune response and concurrently promote tumor angiogenesis, thereby promote tumor growth and progression. In this review, we discuss recent progresses in expansion and activity of tumor MDSCs, and describe new findings about immunosuppressive function of different subtypes of MDSCs in cancer. We also discussed tumor angiogenic activities and pro-tumor invasion/metastatic roles of MDSCs in tumor progression.

Keywords: M-MDSC; Myeloid-derived suppressor cells; PMN-MDSC; Tumor microenvironment; angiogenesis; immune suppression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The regulation mechanisms of MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment. PMN-MDSCs can take up, process and present antigens to antigen-specific T cells. Through cell–cell contact, PMN-MDSCs induce nitration of the T-cell receptors (TCR) on the surface of T cells. T cells become unresponsive to antigen specific stimulation. M-MDSCs are differentiated into tumor associated macrophages (TAM) that inhibit T and NK cell immune responses. Both PMN-MDSCs and M-MDSCs produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) which inhibit T and NK cells in a non-specific manner. MDSCs induce Treg expansion via secretion of IL-10 and TGF-β. In some cancer models, the induction of Treg by MDSCs is associated with the expression of cytotoxic lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4). Tregs inhibit T and NK cells. MDSCs contribute to tumor angiogenesis by production of factors such as MMP9, CCL2, VEGF and BV8. TGF-β signaling in MDSCs plays an important role in tumor metastasis.
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