Macrophages and microglia in glioblastoma: heterogeneity, plasticity, and therapy

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive tumor in the central nervous system and contains a highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumor-associated macrophages and microglia (TAMs) are a dominant population of immune cells in the GBM TME that contribute to most GBM hallmarks, including immunosuppression. The understanding of TAMs in GBM has been limited by the lack of powerful tools to characterize them. However, recent progress on single-cell technologies offers an opportunity to precisely characterize TAMs at the single-cell level and identify new TAM subpopulations with specific tumor-modulatory functions in GBM. In this Review, we discuss TAM heterogeneity and plasticity in the TME and…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Defense

  Awards: W81XWH, W81XWH-21-1-0380
• NU
  Northwestern University

  Award: P50 CA221747
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R01 NS124594, R00 CA240896, CA221747, W81XWH, NIH P50, NIH R01, P50 CA221747, NS124594
• RH
  Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center