The Metabolic Orchestration of Immune Evasion in Glioblastoma: From Molecular Perspectives to Therapeutic Vulnerabilities
Ravi Medikonda, Matthew Abikenari, Ethan Schonfeld, Michael Lim
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive primary brain cancer with dismal prognoses despite current standards of care. Immunotherapy is being explored for GBM, given its promising results in other solid malignancies; however, the results from early clinical studies in GBM are disappointing. It has been discovered that GBM has numerous mechanisms of immune resistance, including the physical blood-brain barrier, high intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity, and numerous cellular and molecular components in the tumor microenvironment (TME) that promote immunosuppression. Furthermore, GBM utilizes numerous metabolic pathways to establish a survival advantage in the TME. Recently, it has begun to become evident that these complex metabolic pathways that promote GBM growth and invasion also contribute to tumor immune resistance. Aerobic glycolysis provides tumor cells with ample ATP while depleting key glucose and increasing acidity in the TME. Increased glutamine, tryptophan, and arginine metabolism deprives T cells of these necessary amino acids for proper anti-tumor function. Sphingolipid metabolism promotes an immunosuppressive phenotype in the TME and affects immune cell trafficking. This review will discuss, in detail, the key metabolic pathways relevant to GBM pathophysiology which also modulate host immunosuppression.