MERTK inhibition improves therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients only achieves response rates of 25%-30%, indicating the necessity of new therapies for non-responder patients. Since myeloid-related suppressive factors are associated with poor responses to ICI in a subgroup of HCC patients, modulation of these targets may improve response rates. Our aim was to characterize the expression of the efferocytosis receptor MERTK in HCC and to analyze its potential as a new therapeutic target. In HCC patients, MERTK was expressed by myeloid cells and was associated with poorer survival. In a murine HCC model with progressive myeloid cell infiltration, MERTK was detected in dendritic cells and macrophages with an activated phenotype, which overexpressed the checkpoin

SUBMITTER: Llopiz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11881874 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature