The role of lipid metabolism in tumor immune microenvironment and potential therapeutic strategies

Abstract

Aberrant lipid metabolism is nonnegligible for tumor cells to adapt to the tumor microenvironment (TME). It plays a significant role in the amount and function of immune cells, including tumor-associated macrophages, T cells, dendritic cells and marrow-derived suppressor cells. It is well-known that the immune response in TME is suppressed and lipid metabolism is closely involved in this process. Immunotherapy, containing anti-PD1/PDL1 therapy and adoptive T cell therapy, is a crucial clinical cancer therapeutic strategy nowadays, but they display a low-sensibility in certain cancers. In this review, we mainly discussed the importance of lipid metabolism in the formation of immunosuppressive TME, and explored the effectiveness and sensitivity of immunotherapy treatment by regulating the lipid metabolism.