Tsukanov VV, Tonkikh JL, Kasparov EV, Vasyutin AV. Inhibition of M2 tumor-associated macrophages polarization by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as a possible liver cancer therapy method. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(40): 4399-4403 [PMID: 39494099 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i40.4399]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Vladislav V Tsukanov, DSc, MD, PhD, Full Professor, Clinical Department of the Digestive System Pathology of Adults and Children, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center” of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North, 3-G Partizan Zheleznyak St, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia. gastro@impn.ru
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 28, 2024; 30(40): 4399-4403 Published online Oct 28, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i40.4399
Inhibition of M2 tumor-associated macrophages polarization by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as a possible liver cancer therapy method
Vladislav V Tsukanov, Julia L Tonkikh, Edward V Kasparov, Alexander V Vasyutin
Vladislav V Tsukanov, Julia L Tonkikh, Edward V Kasparov, Alexander V Vasyutin, Clinical Department of the Digestive System Pathology of Adults and Children, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center” of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia
Author contributions: Tsukanov VV designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Tonkikh JL, Kasparov EV and Vasyutin AV contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; Tsukanov VV, Tonkikh JL, Kasparov EV and Vasyutin AV contributed to the writing, and editing the manuscript, and review of literature.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Vladislav V Tsukanov, DSc, MD, PhD, Full Professor, Clinical Department of the Digestive System Pathology of Adults and Children, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center” of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North, 3-G Partizan Zheleznyak St, Krasnoyarsk 660022, Russia. gastro@impn.ru
Received: August 14, 2024 Revised: September 9, 2024 Accepted: September 26, 2024 Published online: October 28, 2024 Processing time: 63 Days and 2 Hours
Abstract
The problem of liver cancer is becoming increasingly important due to the epidemic of metabolic diseases and persistent high alcohol consumption. This determines great attention to the development and improvement of methods for early diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. Huang et al presented a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, in which they showed that the use of the traditional Chinese medicine Calculus bovis (CB) can suppress tumor growth in mice by inhibiting M2 tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) through modulating the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The interaction of CB components with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, M2 TAM polarization, and tumor dynamics were studied using network pharmacology, transcriptomics, and molecular docking. It is now generally accepted that the polarization of TAM and the differentiation of the functions of M1 and M2 phagocytes are of great importance for the progression of neoplasms. It is assumed that M2 TAM promote proliferation and migration of tumor cells. Attempts to medicinally influence the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in order to modulate phagocyte polarization now belong to one of the most promising areas of immunotherapy of oncological diseases. Undoubtedly, the work of the Chinese authors deserves attention and further development.
Core Tip: The editorial article is devoted to the possibility of drug inhibiting M2 tumor-associated macrophages polarization by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway for suppressing liver cancer. The article by Chinese authors presented in the World Journal of Gastroenterology draws attention to this issue, in their work they showed that the use of a traditional Chinese medicine-Calculus bovis allows suppressing liver cancer growth in mice through this mechanism. This study is distinguished by its extremely promising and strategically new aim and a very impressive methodological level of research.
