Immunometabolism: A novel perspective of liver cancer microenvironment and its influence on tumor progression

Figure 1 The immune cells in the tumor microenvironment regulate liver cancer progression. Many types of immune cells in the TME show pro- or anti-tumoral effects on the liver cancer cells by cell-specific mechanisms. Complicated crosstalk between immune cells is also common. TME: Tumor microenvironment; ILC: Innate lymphoid cell; NKT: Natural killer T.

Figure 2 Metabolites in the tumor microenvironment affect the anti-/pro-tumoral functions of immune cells. Energy resources including glucose, glutamine, free fatty acids, and other metabolites such as succinate largely alter the functions of macrophages, neutrophils, and T cells. These metabolically reprogrammed immune cells then have a differed influence on the liver cancer cells compared to the original immune cells. FAO: Fatty acid oxidation.