abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a heterogenous assemblage of malignant and non-malignant cells, including infiltrating immune cells and other stromal cells, together with extracellular matrix and a variety of soluble factors. This complex and dynamic milieu strongly affects tumor differentiation, progression, immune evasion, and response to therapy, thus being an important therapeutic target. The phenotypic and functional features of the various cell types present in the TME are largely dependent on their ability to adopt different metabolic programs. Hence, modulating the metabolism of the cells in the TME, and their metabolic crosstalk, has emerged as a promising strategy in the context of anticancer therapies. Natural compounds offer an attractive tool in this respect as their multiple biological activities can potentially be harnessed to '(re)-educate' TME cells towards antitumoral roles. The present review discusses how natural compounds shape the metabolism of stromal cells in the TME and how this may impact tumor development and progression.
keywords
CANCER STEM-CELLS; 3T3-L1 ADIPOCYTES; GLUTAMINE UPTAKE; DENDRITIC CELLS; MACROPHAGES; CURCUMIN; INHIBITION; ACID; LACTATE; (-)-EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE
subject category
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
authors
Dias, AS; Helguero, L; Almeida, CR; Duarte, IF
our authors
acknowledgements
This work was developed in the scope of the projects iBiMED-Institute of Biomedicine (UIDB/04501/2020 and CENTRO-01-0246-FEDER-000018) and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020 and UIDP/50011/2020), financed by national funds through FCT/MCTES. A.S.D. acknowledges financial support from FCT through a Ph.D. grant (Ref. SFRH/BD/140322/2018). Support from `Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro' is also acknowledged.