Pathways and molecules for overcoming immunotolerance in metastatic gastrointestinal tumors

Front Immunol. 2024 Apr 5:15:1359914. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1359914. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Worldwide, gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is recognized as one of the leading malignancies diagnosed in both genders, with mortality largely attributed to metastatic dissemination. It has been identified that in GI cancer, a variety of signaling pathways and key molecules are modified, leading to the emergence of an immunotolerance phenotype. Such modifications are pivotal in the malignancy's evasion of immune detection. Thus, a thorough analysis of the pathways and molecules contributing to GI cancer's immunotolerance is vital for advancing our comprehension and propelling the creation of efficacious pharmacological treatments. In response to this necessity, our review illuminates a selection of groundbreaking cellular signaling pathways associated with immunotolerance in GI cancer, including the Phosphoinositide 3-kinases/Akt, Janus kinase/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3, Nuclear Factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, Transforming Growth Factor-beta/Smad, Notch, Programmed Death-1/Programmed Death-Ligand 1, and Wingless and INT-1/beta-catenin-Interleukin 10. Additionally, we examine an array of pertinent molecules like Indoleamine-pyrrole 2,3-dioxygenase, Human Leukocyte Antigen G/E, Glycoprotein A Repetitions Predominant, Clever-1, Interferon regulatory factor 8/Osteopontin, T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3, Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1, Cell division control protein 42 homolog, and caspases-1 and -12.

Keywords: gastrointestinal cancer; immune escape; immunotolerance; metastasis; molecule; pathway.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Immune Tolerance
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Tumor Escape

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Health Commission Research Program Project of Hunan Province (No.D202309037763 to QG).