Inflammation and Pancreatic Cancer: Focus on Metabolism, Cytokines, and Immunity
Department of Medicine – DIMED, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(3), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20030676
Received: 12 December 2018 / Revised: 23 January 2019 / Accepted: 31 January 2019 / Published: 5 February 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF))
Abstract
Systemic and local chronic inflammation might enhance the risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and PDAC-associated inflammatory infiltrate in the tumor microenvironment concurs in enhancing tumor growth and metastasis. Inflammation is closely correlated with immunity, the same immune cell populations contributing to both inflammation and immune response. In the PDAC microenvironment, the inflammatory cell infiltrate is unbalanced towards an immunosuppressive phenotype, with a prevalence of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC), M2 polarized macrophages, and Treg, over M1 macrophages, dendritic cells, and effector CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. The dynamic and continuously evolving cross-talk between inflammatory and cancer cells might be direct and contact-dependent, but it is mainly mediated by soluble and exosomes-carried cytokines. Among these, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) plays a relevant role in enhancing cancer risk, cancer growth, and cancer-associated cachexia. In this review, we describe the inflammatory cell types, the cytokines, and the mechanisms underlying PDAC risk, growth, and progression, with particular attention on TNFα, also in the light of the potential risks or benefits associated with anti-TNFα treatments. View Full-TextKeywords:
anti-TNFα; cytokines; inflammation; miRNA; myeloid derived suppressor cells; pancreatic cancer; S100A8; S100A9; TNFα; Treg lymphocytes; tumor associated macrophages
▼
Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Padoan, A.; Plebani, M.; Basso, D. Inflammation and Pancreatic Cancer: Focus on Metabolism, Cytokines, and Immunity. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 676.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Int. J. Mol. Sci.
EISSN 1422-0067
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert