Abstract
In most solid cancers, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) infiltrating the tumor microenvironment (TME) represent a major population of immunosuppressive cells. This correlates with poor prognosis and resistance to antitumoral therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. Although initial preclinical studies were primarily meant to deplete macrophages in the TME or prevent their recruitment at tumor sites, recent evidence has indicated that the reprogramming of macrophages into cytotoxic effectors might be more beneficial in eliciting an effective antitumor immune response. Taking this into consideration, the comprehensive analysis of the phenotype and function of macrophages in the TME, and their interaction with cancer cells or other immune cells, has become of paramount importance in oncological research. Accordingly, here we explain the experimental procedures for the in vivo evaluation of tumor progression and response to therapy, with a particular focus on the detailed analysis of TAMs and related immune cells in the TME by flow cytometry, RNA analysis, and multiplex immunophenoty**. The output generated through these experiments allow researchers to test the efficacy of new therapeutic strategies on targeting.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the 2^2-INTRATARGET project (A20/00028) funded by the ISCIII, PI19/00230 (to A. Calvo), and by IMH (to P. Allavena) under the umbrella of the ERA NET EuroNanoMed GA N 723770 of the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (AC, PA, FTA, and CA). AU was supported by a FIRC-AIRC fellowship for Italy. FTA was supported by a grant by “Fundación de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer” and an “Oportunious” program grant by Xunta de Galicia.
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Anfray, C., Ummarino, A., Calvo, A., Allavena, P., Torres Andón, F. (2023). In Vivo Analysis of Tumor-Associated Macrophages in the Tumor Microenvironment. In: Ursini-Siegel, J. (eds) The Tumor Microenvironment. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2614. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2914-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2914-7_7
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