Regulation of Immune Cell Metabolism in Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment is composed of various cellular and non-cellular components, among which immune cells play a key role in the process of tumor genesis and progression. Unlike in normal tissue, metabolic reprogramming of immune cells in tumor microenvironment leads to a shift in their function — often showing a reduced inflammatory response or an enhanced inhibitory function that assists in tumor immune escape. A deeper understanding of this process will provide new ideas for clinical antitumor therapy. This article reviews the metabolic reprogramming of macrophages, natural killer cells, T cells and B cells which play a main role in the process of anti-tumor immunity and their functions and features during tumor genesis and progression, so as to show the tumor microenvironment in the immune regulatory blueprint, and provide new insight into the metabolism of tumor immunotherapy.