MINI REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1658848
This article is part of the Research TopicMechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities of T-Cell Impairment in Cancer Immunity and ImmunotherapyView all 12 articles
Rewiring Immune Suppression in NSCLC: Roles and Plasticity of Tregs and Th17 Cells
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Respiratory and Critial Care Medicine, The Affiliated Xuzhou Municipal Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China., Xuzhou, China
- 2Department of Respiratory and Critial Care Medicine, Xuzhou First People's Hospital, No. 269Daxue Road, Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, 221116, Jiangsu Province, China., Xuzhou, China
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Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibits profound immune dysregulation, driven in part by the opposing roles of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper 17 (Th17) cells. Tregs facilitate tumor progression through immune suppression, angiogenesis, and checkpoint engagement, while Th17 cells display dual effects depending on the tumor microenvironment, either promoting anti-tumor responses or enhancing malignancy. Importantly, plasticity between these subsets, orchestrated by cytokines such as TGF-β, IL-6, and IL-1β, allows dynamic interconversion that shapes immune outcomes. This review comprehensively summarizes the differentiation, molecular mechanisms, and functions of Tregs and Th17 cells in NSCLC. We highlight recent advances in targeting the Th17/Treg axis via immune checkpoint inhibitors, Treg depletion, and metabolic reprogramming. Understanding this immunological balance offers promising avenues for restoring anti-tumor immunity and improving therapeutic efficacy in NSCLC patients.
Keywords: NSCLC, regulatory T cells, Th17 Cells, Immunotherapy, Tumor immune microenvironment, immune plasticity
Received: 03 Jul 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Zhou, Li and Liu. 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: Xiaoxing Liu, 15665169177@163.com
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