Colon cancer cell-derived exosomes modulate macrophage immunosuppressive phenotype associated to PD-L1 expression

COLON CANCER CELL-DERIVED EXOSOMES INDUCE MACROPHAGES TO ACQUIRE AN IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE PHENOTYPE BY UPREGULATING PD-L1 EXPRESSION

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a prominent component of cancer microenvironment having a key role in promoting tumor progression. Several studies have demonstrated that TAMs phenotypically and functionally correspond to M2-polarized macrophages thus they exert immunosuppressive functions also associated to the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). Within the local tumor microenvironment, tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) are well known to play a key role in modulating the properties and the behavior of surrounding cells such as TAMs. Even if several studies demonstrated the ability of TDEs to induce M2-like macrophage polarization, few data are available about their inv…