NF-B: Governing Macrophages in Cancer

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME), where they sustain tumor progression and or-tumor immunity. Due to their plasticity, macrophages can exhibit anti- or pro-tumor functions through the expression of different gene sets leading to distinct macrophage phenotypes: M1-like or pro-inflammatory and M2-like or anti-inflammatory. NF-kappa B transcription factors are central regulators of TAMs in cancers, where they often drive macrophage polarization toward an M2-like phenotype. Therefore, the NF-kappa B pathway is an attractive therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy in a wide range of human tumors. Hence, targeting NF-kappa B pathway in the myeloid compartment is a potential clinical strategy to overcome microenvironment-induced immunosuppression and increase anti-tumor immunity. In this review, we discuss the role of NF-kappa B as a key driver of macrophage functions in tumors as well as the principal strategies to overcome tumor immunosuppression by targeting the NF-kappa B pathway.