Abstract
B cells constitute a major component of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes. However, the influence of these cells on malignancy is currently under debate, reflecting the heterogeneity of B cell subsets in tumors. With recent advances, it becomes apparent that this debate includes not only the evaluation of B cells themselves, but also the underlying immune microenvironment network, which scripts the highly heterogeneous B cell populations in tumors and directs the roles of those sub-populations in disease progression and clinical treatment. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the heterogeneous subset composition of B cells in both human and mouse tumor models and their different impacts on disease progression. We further describe the multidimensional interplays between B cells and other immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, which account for the regulation of B cell differentiation and function in situ. We also assess the potential influences of distinct sub-tumor locations on B cell function in primary tumors during development and those under immunotherapy treatment. Illuminating the heterogeneous nature of B cell subset composition, generation, localization, and related immune network in tumor is of immense significance for comprehensively understanding B cell response in tumor and designing more efficacious cancer immunotherapies.
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Acknowledgements
We sincerely apologize to those colleagues whose important work is not included in this paper. The presentation of a complete and extensive review is extremely challenging owing to the plethora of literature related to the topic described in this review. We apologize in advance for any inadvertent omission. This work was supported by project grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82025016, 31830025, and 81901585); the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2018B030308010, 2019A1515011770, and 2020A1515010895); and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020T130738, 2019M653191, 2019M653169, and BX20180398).
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Wei, Y., Huang, CX., Xiao, X. et al. B cell heterogeneity, plasticity, and functional diversity in cancer microenvironments. Oncogene 40, 4737–4745 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01918-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01918-y