Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy

Abstract Immune cell metabolism plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, and functional responses, collectively shaping immune responses within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent advancements increasingly highlight diverse metabolic phenotypes of immune cells...

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Main Authors: Yingying Lv, Zongshang Li, Shutong Liu, Zhaokai Zhou, Jinling Song, Yuhao Ba, Siyuan Weng, Anning Zuo, Hui Xu, Peng Luo, Quan Cheng, Chuhan Zhang, Jingyuan Ning, Yukang Chen, Yuyuan Zhang, Zaoqu Liu, Xinwei Han
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:Molecular Cancer
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-025-02407-6
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author Yingying Lv
Zongshang Li
Shutong Liu
Zhaokai Zhou
Jinling Song
Yuhao Ba
Siyuan Weng
Anning Zuo
Hui Xu
Peng Luo
Quan Cheng
Chuhan Zhang
Jingyuan Ning
Yukang Chen
Yuyuan Zhang
Zaoqu Liu
Xinwei Han
author_facet Yingying Lv
Zongshang Li
Shutong Liu
Zhaokai Zhou
Jinling Song
Yuhao Ba
Siyuan Weng
Anning Zuo
Hui Xu
Peng Luo
Quan Cheng
Chuhan Zhang
Jingyuan Ning
Yukang Chen
Yuyuan Zhang
Zaoqu Liu
Xinwei Han
author_sort Yingying Lv
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Immune cell metabolism plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, and functional responses, collectively shaping immune responses within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent advancements increasingly highlight diverse metabolic phenotypes of immune cells and their complex interplay with tumor dynamics. Immune cell metabolism exhibits remarkable plasticity, enabling metabolic networks to finely tune immune cell behaviors in response to external stimuli. Furthermore, a strong correlation between metabolic profiles and immune cell fate, activation, and function has been repeatedly delineated in immunometabolism. Consequently, targeting the metabolic networks, referred to as metabolic checkpoints, to reprogram immune cell phenotypes and bolster antitumor immunity holds significant promise for clinical translation. This review summarizes the latest developments in multifaceted metabolic checkpoints, with a focus on how metabolic checkpoints modulate immunological consequences and cancer progression. Lastly, potential strategies for targeting metabolic checkpoints are explored to inspire innovative approaches in immunotherapy.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1476-4598
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Molecular Cancer
spelling doaj-art-4524d0c7940e4a248bbda4e39b6066a72025-08-20T04:01:52ZengBMCMolecular Cancer1476-45982025-08-0124112810.1186/s12943-025-02407-6Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapyYingying Lv0Zongshang Li1Shutong Liu2Zhaokai Zhou3Jinling Song4Yuhao Ba5Siyuan Weng6Anning Zuo7Hui Xu8Peng Luo9Quan Cheng10Chuhan Zhang11Jingyuan Ning12Yukang Chen13Yuyuan Zhang14Zaoqu Liu15Xinwei Han16Department of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Urology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South UniversityDivision of Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityThe Department of Oncology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South UniversityDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityState Key Laboratory of Common Mechanism Research for Major Diseases & Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences & School of Basic Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Interventional Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityAbstract Immune cell metabolism plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, and functional responses, collectively shaping immune responses within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent advancements increasingly highlight diverse metabolic phenotypes of immune cells and their complex interplay with tumor dynamics. Immune cell metabolism exhibits remarkable plasticity, enabling metabolic networks to finely tune immune cell behaviors in response to external stimuli. Furthermore, a strong correlation between metabolic profiles and immune cell fate, activation, and function has been repeatedly delineated in immunometabolism. Consequently, targeting the metabolic networks, referred to as metabolic checkpoints, to reprogram immune cell phenotypes and bolster antitumor immunity holds significant promise for clinical translation. This review summarizes the latest developments in multifaceted metabolic checkpoints, with a focus on how metabolic checkpoints modulate immunological consequences and cancer progression. Lastly, potential strategies for targeting metabolic checkpoints are explored to inspire innovative approaches in immunotherapy.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-025-02407-6Immune cellsMetabolic checkpointsCancer immunotherapyTumor microenvironmentMetabolic reprogrammingT cell
spellingShingle Yingying Lv
Zongshang Li
Shutong Liu
Zhaokai Zhou
Jinling Song
Yuhao Ba
Siyuan Weng
Anning Zuo
Hui Xu
Peng Luo
Quan Cheng
Chuhan Zhang
Jingyuan Ning
Yukang Chen
Yuyuan Zhang
Zaoqu Liu
Xinwei Han
Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
Molecular Cancer
Immune cells
Metabolic checkpoints
Cancer immunotherapy
Tumor microenvironment
Metabolic reprogramming
T cell
title Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
title_full Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
title_fullStr Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
title_full_unstemmed Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
title_short Metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming: rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
title_sort metabolic checkpoints in immune cell reprogramming rewiring immunometabolism for cancer therapy
topic Immune cells
Metabolic checkpoints
Cancer immunotherapy
Tumor microenvironment
Metabolic reprogramming
T cell
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-025-02407-6
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