MINI REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1648601
This article is part of the Research TopicImmune Landscape in the Transition from Inflammation to TumorigenesisView all articles
Harnessing Innate Immunity Against Glioblastoma Microenvironment
Provisionally accepted
- 1Kaifeng Central Hospital, Xinxiang Medical University, Kaifeng, China, Kaifeng, China
- 2Department of Neurosurgery, Kaifeng Central Hospital, Kaifeng, China, Kaifeng, China
- 3Department of Neurology, Kaifeng Central Hospital, Kaifeng, China, Kaifeng, China
- 4Henan Key Laboratory of Neuromuscular Pathology, Kaifeng Central Hospital, Kaifeng, China, Kaifeng, China
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Glioblastoma (GBM) possesses a profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) dominated by innate immune mechanisms. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), microglia, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) constitute the major immunosuppressive axis, promoting tumor progression through cytokine secretion (IL-10, TGF-β), metabolic reprogramming, and inhibition of cytotoxic immunity. These innate immune cells not only facilitate immune evasion but also impair adaptive T-cell responses, limiting the efficacy of current immunotherapies. Emerging evidence highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting innate immunity via TAM repolarization, MDSC depletion, and NK cell activation to reshape the immunosuppressive TME. This review summarizes the pivotal role of innate immunity in GBM pathogenesis and explores novel combinatorial strategies that integrate innate immune modulation with checkpoint blockade, oncolytic virotherapy, and metabolic interventions to overcome therapeutic resistance in this lethal malignancy.
Keywords: Glioblastoma, innate immunity, Tumor-associated macrophages, NK cell, Microglia, myeloidderived suppressor cells, Tumor Microenvironment, Immunotherapy
Received: 17 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Zhang, Wu and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xinsheng Han, Department of Neurology, Kaifeng Central Hospital, Kaifeng, China, Kaifeng, China
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