Alveolar macrophages in lung cancer: opportunities challenges

Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are critical components of the innate defense mechanism in lung. Nestled tightly within alveoli, AMs, derived from yolk-sac or bone marrow, can phagocytose foreign particles, defend host against pathogens, recycle surfactant, and promptly respond to inhaled noxious stimuli. The behavior AMs is dependent on environmental cues whereby infection, chronic inflammation, associated metabolic changes repolarize their effector functions lungs. Several factors tumor microenvironment re-educate resulting growth, reducing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) efficacy patients treated for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). plasticity function altering responses ICIs make them a desirable target treatment. New strategies have been developed solid tumors reprograming suppressive boosting ICIs. Here, we review phenotypic functional response sterile inflammation NSCLC that could be growth metastasis. Opportunities AMs’ include harnessing potential trained immunity, concept borrowed memory infections, which explored therapeutically managing