Dual roles of innate immune cells and cytokines in shaping the breast cancer microenvironment.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Increasing evidence underscores the pivotal yet paradoxical roles of innate immune cells and their associated cytokines in orchestrating the dynamic landscape of the breast tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Innate immune effectors, including tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and natural killer (NK) cells, exert dual functions by either initiating robust antitumor responses or facilitating immune evasion, metastatic dissemination, and therapeutic resistance. For instance, MDSCs suppress T and NK cell activity via STAT3/NF-κB signaling and modulate the cytokine milieu through IL-10 and TGF-β. Similarly, M2-polarized TAMs promote angiogenesis, epithelial-

SUBMITTER: Zhang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12405171 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature