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The Dark Side of IFN-γ: Its Role in Promoting Cancer Immunoevasion

2017; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 19; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/ijms19010089

1661-6596

Marija Mojić, Kazuyoshi Takeda, Yoshihiro Hayakawa,

Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has long been praised as an important effector molecule of anti-tumor immunity, capable of suppressing tumor growth through various mechanisms. On the contrary to such a bright side of IFN-γ, it has also been involved in promoting an outgrowth of tumor cells with immunoevasive phenotype suggesting an existence of a dark “tumor-promoting” side effect of IFN-γ. In this review, we will summarize this multi-functional role of IFN-γ in tumor context, how it promotes changes in tumor phenotype towards increased fitness for growth in immunocompetent host. Furthermore, we summarize how IFN-γ is involved in homeostatic or cancer-triggered mechanisms to establish an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.