Aiming to immune elimination of ovarian cancer stem cells

Figure 4 Immune-suppressive pathways in ovarian cancer. Tregs are attracted to the tumor environment by CCL22, secreted by the tumor. The tumor microenvironment expresses molecules that can convert functional antigen presenting cells (APCs) into dysfunctional ones. These dysfunctional APCs in turn stimulate Treg differentiation and expansion. pDCs are also present in the tumor environment and stimulate tumor growth by releasing tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-8. (modified from[132]). pDCs also facilitate immunosuppressive function of FoxP3⁺ICOS⁺Treg[123].