Journal
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages 1-16Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00127
Keywords
tumor-associated macrophage; TAM heterogeneity; macrophage ontogeny; macrophage proliferation; hypoxia; obesity; atherosclerosis; feto-maternal interface
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Macrophages are extremely versatile cells that adopt a distinct phenotype in response to a changing microenvironment. Consequently, macrophages are involved in diverse functions, ranging from organogenesis and tissue homeostasis to recognition and destruction of invading pathogens. In cancer, tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) often contribute to tumor progression by increasing cancer cell migration and invasiveness, stimulating angiogenesis, and suppressing anti-tumor immunity. Accumulating evidence suggests that these different functions could be exerted by specialized TAM subpopulations. Here, we discuss the potential underlying mechanisms regulating TAM specialization and elaborate on TAM heterogeneity in terms of their ontogeny, activation state, and intra-tumoral localization. In addition, parallels are drawn between TAM and macrophages in other tissues. Together, a better understanding of TAM diversity could provide a rationale
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