REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Crosstalk between cancer stem cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells: Implications for tumor progression and immunotherapy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
- 2Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a small subset of tumor cells populations characterized by their ability to self-renew and differentiate. These cells are often considered resistant to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, playing a crucial role in driving tumor progression and metastasis. To evade immune attacks, CSCs utilize various genetic and epigenetic strategies that diminish immune recognition, enhance tolerance to immune-induced cytotoxicity, and foster the development of a protective immunosuppressive microenvironment. This microenvironment is shaped by a group of key immunosuppressive cells, particularly myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which not only directly inhibit effector T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, facilitating the immune escape of CSCs, but also significantly contribute to the maintenance of tumor cell stemness and promote their metastasis. Conversely, the developmental signals of MDSCs are also regulated by CSCs. This complex interplay between MDSCs and CSCs adds layers of complexity to the cancer-immune cycle and the associated tumor treatment strategies. Therefore, understanding the detrimental interdependence between MDSCs and CSCs to effectively impede tumor progression has become heated topic in tumor immunology. In this review, we provide a timely summary of the latest studies on the reported characteristics of CSCs and MDSCs, discuss their interconnection during tumor progression, and evaluate various immunotherapeutic strategies targeting these cell populations.
Keywords: myeloid-derived suppressor cells, cancer stem cells, Tumor immune microenvironment, tumor progression, Immunotherapy
Received: 24 Aug 2025; Accepted: 06 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhao, Han, Xu and Li. 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: Bo Wang, wbxjhyj@xjmu.edu.cn
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