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Lipid recycling by macrophage cells drives the growth of brain cancer

In brain tumours, immune cells called macrophages scavenge lipid debris from the myelin sheath of neurons. These lipid-laden macrophages cause immunosuppression, and their transfer of lipids to tumours fuels cancer growth.
  1. Lisa Sevenich

    1. Lisa Sevenich is in the Department of Neurology and Interdisciplinary Neuro-Oncology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH) and in the M3 Research Center for Malignome, Metabolome and Microbiome Research, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

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A malignant type of cancer that originates in the brain, called glioblastoma, is associated with a highly immunosuppressive microenvironment1. Various cues from cancer cells and their neighbours in the tumour microenvironment result in the exclusion and functional suppression of T cells — immune cells that have the potential to kill glioblastoma cells2,3. Extensive research has increased scientists’ knowledge of tumour-associated immune cells, such as microglia (the brain-resident subset of macrophages) and monocyte-derived macrophages (which are associated with cancer promotion and immunosuppression in glioblastoma)4–6. Writing in Cell, Kloosterman et al.7 examine the broad spectrum of microglial cells and monocyte-derived macrophage populations in mouse models of glioblastoma, and provide mechanistic insights into the complex interplay between glioblastoma cells and tumour-infiltrating immune cells.

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Nature 633, 777-778 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02868-7

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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