Tumor-Associated Macrophages as Major Immunosuppressive Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment.

Within the tumor microenvironment, myeloid cells constitute a dynamic immune population characterized by a heterogeneous phenotype and diverse functional activities. In this review, we consider recent literature shedding light on the increasingly complex biology of M2-like immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), including their contribution to tumor cell invasion and metastasis, stromal remodeling (fibrosis and matrix degradation), and immune suppressive functions, in the tumor microenvironment (TME). This review also delves into the intricate signaling mechanisms underlying the polarization of diverse macrophage phenotypes, and their plasticity.

The role of Hippo/YAP1 in cancer-associated fibroblasts: Literature review and future perspectives.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are activated fibroblasts that play a role in numerous malignant phenotypes, including hyperproliferation, invasion, and metastasis. These phenotypes correlate with activity of the Hippo pathway oncoprotein, Yes-associated protein-1 (YAP1), and its paralog, transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). YAP1/TAZ are normally involved in organ growth, under the regulation of various kinases and upon phosphorylation, are retained in the cytoplasm by chaperone proteins, leading to their proteasomal degradation.

Ernst Bertner: A Surgeon with Prescient Vision for the Largest Medical Center in the World.

More than 75 years ago, surgeon Ernst Bertner envisioned the Texas Medical Center (TMC) as "breathtaking in the scope and breadth of its conception," that would be "one of the largest in the world"; a gigantic medical enterprise that would "attract the greatest scientists of the world" and would combine patient care, research, and education, on a scale that was "second to none." During the next 3 years, Bertner accomplished important pieces of the Herculean task to bring onto the campus 11 major buildings, including the University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research, for which he was the interim director. This was an extraordinary accomplishment because at the outset he had only a strategic plan, the deed to 134 acres of forest, and financial support from the MD Anderson Foundation! Bertner further forecasted world-class clinical and educational programs in the TMC, stating: "We envision the time when the Medical Center will become a great magnet, drawing leaders in education, medicine, and dental professions.